


act one scene zero (action)

by derseroyalty



Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Multi, Theater AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 19:23:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 48,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12824367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derseroyalty/pseuds/derseroyalty
Summary: The crew has to put on a play, a musical, and their award show before they graduate.This should be a piece of cake. (theater au)





	1. new girl (act one scene one)

**Author's Note:**

> to the one thing that brought me joy during the worse year of my life.
> 
> cheers!
> 
> (note: I was part of the crew, not the cast lol so I only know tech stuff better)

The list for this year is taped on the theater door.

The problem is, the building’s locked and it won’t be open for another fifteen minutes.

Twenty-one students stand in front of the PAC, faces pressed against the window. Someone sighs and causes a white puff of fog to form on the glass.

“Can someone get a fucking admin?” A guy complains, angrily pointing at the building. “I want to know if I got SM!”

“You won’t with that attitude,” a girl with silver hair mutters. The guy glares at her and she sticks her tongue out at him.

In the back of the group, a small huddle of students stand with money in their hands. “Okay, bets on Stage Manager right?” A guy with a blue hoodie whispers. “Who’s in the running?”

“Tyler, Marcel, and Kelly.” A guy with a red jacket replies. He glances to the front and laughs. “Tyler looks pissed, as always. I’m gonna say Kelly; she’s damn good at leading people.”

“I’m gonna say Tyler!” The blue hoodie guy says with a grin. “He led the crew several times when Mr. McQuaid wasn’t here.”

“You guys are wrong,” the third member of their group laughs. She flips back her brown ponytail before adding, “Marcel definitely got it.”

“I sure hope he did!” A second girl heads over, red hair flowing to her shoulders. “He worked super hard for it.”

“Hi, Simone!” They all greet her. Simone smiles at them. “Hi Lanai, Jon, Evan! I don’t think anyone else went for lights…?”

“Only you did,” Evan laughs. “Luke's friend Ryan said he could go for the understudy role for lights so you probably get to train him! Any word on sound?”

“Nogla,” Simone confirms, and they all slap their hands to their faces. “This is gonna be so much fun!” Jon cackles, looking at the tall Irish boy in the middle of the students.

“Is anyone else on the tech crew with you three?” Simone asks, looking back at the agitated group. “I hate to think that the build and run have to go to you guys.”

“We’ve got Melina and that fishy Smitty!” Lanai grins. “Melina’s got costumes and Smitty’s apparently good at running things back and forth. I'm thinking run crew? Jon and Evan have build and I’m a jack-of-all-trades.”

"That works," Simone laughs. "Tyler does have a point though; we need an admin to open the doors."

"McQuaid isn't gonna be here for thirty minutes or whatever," Jon sighs out. "I'm pretty sure we run the class better."

An admin walks up with keys in his hand and a raised eyebrow. "How do you manage to get here so fast?"

Evan shrugs. "We're theater kids. Time management is kinda our thing."

"Even if half of us suck at it," Jon laughs, stuffing his hands into his hoodie.

The admin just sighs and heads to the door. The theater kids, crowding the front, gasp and shove each other as he unlocks the PAC entrance.

Behind the group, a girl with brown hair and tips dyed into an ombré stands awkwardly, glancing down at her phone. She adjusts her glasses and looks nervously towards the giant group. As soon as the doors open, the students rush in, and she follows with a hesitant confidence in her step.

Tyler, in all of his 6'4 glory, barrels his way towards the theater room (which is held in the Black Box) and practically slams into the door. Marcel, puffing a bit, reaches it a second later and Kelly just strolls her way to them.

Evan ends up next to Chrissy, who stands with her arms folded. "Didn't you go for SM?" He asks her, looking confused as she laughs.

"No way dude!!" She giggles, running her hands through her long reddish hair. "I went for ASM. Literally no one signed up for it so I know I have it in the bag."

"Any theories on who got SM?" Lanai pops into the conversation.

Chrissy taps her chin thoughtfully. "I think it's Marcel. Nogla is super positive it's him."

As she finishes her sentence, a bloodcurdling shriek echoes through the PAC and Kelly comes out laughing her ass off, tears in her eyes as she heads to the bigger group. "WHO GOT IT?!" Anthony hollers, grinning from where he's standing with Melina.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she announces, gesturing with a flourish as the Black Box door gets kicked open, "I present, our newest SM...MARCEL!!"

The group erupts into cheers as Marcel comes out screaming, pumping his fist into the air. "HOLY SHIT!!" He keeps yelling, jumping around with a grin.

Tyler heads out of the Black Box and sighs, patting Marcel on the shoulder. "Hey, congrats dude. You really do deserve this."

The two of them embrace and Evan wolf-whistles, laughing as they both flip him off. "Fuck off Evan!" Tyler calls back.

In the back of the group, Craig and Brian laugh with Brock. "I really thought Kelly was gonna get it," Brian admits. "She terrifies me and she's a really good leader."

"I thought Tyler had it in the bag!" Craig grins. "Damn, I owe some people money."

Behind them, the girl taps Craig on the shoulder. "Excuse me...?"

"Hm?" Craig turns and freezes when he sees the girl. Her eyes are deep and dark and she's a head shorter than him. Craig literally feels his mouth go dry as he stares. "Uh..."

Brock comes to his rescue and smiles at her. "Can we help you?"

"Yes please?" She asks, pulling out her schedule. "My dad moved to this town and took me with him, and I don't know anyone here. New school which means I'm the new girl."

"No worries!" Brock reassures her; Brian reaches forward and shuts Craig's jaw. "You're drooling," he mutters, and Craig shoves him.

"What's up?" Chrissy comes over, smiling as she reaches the girl. "Hi! I'm Chrissy, theater's assistant stage manager. Which class were you looking for?"

A relieved expression comes over the girl's face. "This is theater?"

"Yep!" Brian grabs Craig into a headlock. "I'm Brian, and this is Craig and that's Brock. Craig and I are part of the actual theater and our lovely Brock is one half of our spotlights."

"My name's Samantha, but you can call me Sam or Suni." She giggles. "I signed up for regular theater."

"New kid?" Kelly heads over with Tyler right behind her. "Hey, Marcel! Get your ass over here, you can do your first job as SM."

Marcel hustles over with Simone and Scotty right behind him. "Sup! I'm Marcel, the stage manager. Welcome to the PAC, or Performing Art Center. Want me to introduce you to the crew?"

"That sounds awesome," Suni grins.

Apparently that's Kelly's cue because she takes off, dragging people with her as Tyler throws open the door to the auditorium. "Get in roll call!" She calls to everyone. "We have a newbie!"

"Yes!" Smitty cheers from where he's standing with Kryoz. "It's good to know I’m not the only one!"

The cast and crew hustle to the theater and head inside. Craig opens the door for Suni; she thanks him and heads inside, eyes wide as she gazes at the stage and then the audience area. "Whoa..."

The auditorium is magnificent. The stage is painted a dark gray and has a deep red velvet curtain flowing across it. Various props are littered backstage, along with the controls for the curtain.

The audience has velvet seats that cover the area closest to the stage. Handicap spots are lit up behind the seats, easily accessible for wheelchairs. One main path links the two main auditorium doors together. Behind the path, the theater rises up and has even more seats in a bleacher formation. A few other paths up the stairs are lit up by small lights, and two singular spotlights mirror each other with their position on either side of the seats.

The sound booth overlooks the entire auditorium. If anyone gazed up at it, they would see a smaller room above it, completely dark and silent.

"Holy shit," Suni breathes, staring at everything in awe. "This is beautiful!"

"We do our best to make sure this place looks good for every performance," Marcel puffs out his chest. "It's our pride and joy, y'know? Let me introduce you to everyone."

Majority of the people leap onto stage, hoisting themselves up. About ten or eleven people go sit down in the front row and wait for Marcel. Suni sits down next to Chrissy, who winks at her.

Marcel gets on stage himself and brings the group forward. "This is our cast! They perform every role they get and they better do it perfect."

"That's all we do!" Brian poses. Everyone laughs, and Suni giggles.

Marcel brings the giant guy and the girl with silver hair forward. "This is Tyler, and that's Kelly. We're not sure if they're dating or not, but none of us care enough to find out."

"You can kiss my ass, Marcel." Kelly smiles sweetly. Tyler just flips him off.

"This is Scotty, Lui, Luke, and that's Anthony." Marcel points at four guys who wave. "Scott's my best friend, Lui is a prankster, Luke is like, our dad for most of this, and Anthony has the greatest laugh you'll ever hear."

"Thanks, dude." Scotty grins.

"That's Jaclyn!" Marcel gestures to a girl with long dark hair. "She's super good at musical roles and although she's a bit quiet, she's a wonderful actor!" She smiles and softly waves, laughing as someone in the audience whoops and cheers. "THAT'S MY GIRL!" A guy stands up and shouts.

"Shut the FUCK UP, Nogla!" Several people yell back in unison.

"And the people you were talking to are Brian, and that's Craig! I hate to give them any credit, but they're both pretty good at this acting biz." Marcel sighs. "Assholes."

"Main cast," Suni repeats, committing their names to memory. "Gotcha."

The cast swaps with the other group and Marcel does the Will Smith pose as he gestures to the next group of people. "This is our crew!! They make sure the magic onstage is able to look good, which means they all work backstage and in the sound booth."

Suni sees Brock and Chrissy; the latter dramatically bows. "Chrissy is my ASM, or assistant stage manager. She'll supervise when I'm not here and she's able to make some decisions without my authorization."

"Surprised he could say a word with that many syllables," Tyler mutters to Craig, laughing as he smacks him.

"Our spotlight crew is Brock and John." Marcel points to the boys, John sliding a small vape into his pocket. "They man the spots you saw upstairs."

At the next pair, Marcel's face softens, and the cast grins as he practically gets heart eyes. "This is our dear lovely Simone, who runs lights, and Ryan over here is a fishy; he's gonna be Simone's understudy but he'll also get to help her out when she needs more hands."

"Hello!" Simone greets Suni, her British accent surprising the new girl. "It's very nice to meet you!" 

Ryan gives Suni a double pistols and a wink, laughing as half the cast groans. They know him pretty well due to him being childhood friends with Jon and Luke even if the latter two were older than him. 

"And this..." Marcel sighs, not even bothering with an introduction. "...is Nogla."

"'Ello!" Nogla says happily, waving frantically. "I do sound, which is gonna be a BLAST!"

"If you play some stupid shit while we're in here rehearsing, I'm going to kill you." Marcel threatens. "Don't even try it."

Nogla pouts, making most of the group laugh. "Ye sure?"

"POSITIVE. Someone please keep an eye on him."

"Not it!" Brian shouts. A few other cast members nod in agreement.

"How could you forget us?" Jon protests, pretending to cry as Evan pats him on the shoulder. "Always forgotten no matter what."

"Shut the fuck up you dick, I wasn't done!" Marcel snaps. "Sorry Suni. That's Jon, who's an asshole, and Evan's his partner in crime."

"Both things are true," Evan laughs loudly. "Hi Suni! I'll finish the introductions for you, Marcel. We're on the tech crew and we help build the sets and get props. Smitty over there is gonna be super good at being the run crew, which basically gets props and characters back and forth during performances. Melina here is really good at sewing so she makes our costumes, and Lanai is a jack-of-all-trades."

"So you guys run everything behind the scenes?" Suni asks, grinning in amazement. "Just the five of you?"

"Well, the sound booth crew helps us because some of them, like the spotlights, finish their jobs super early and come down and join us! It really helps." Lanai answers.

"That's our whole team!" Marcel says cheerfully as he gets off stage. "We're glad to have you with the fam. I'll get your schedule and figure out what lunch you're in, and then have some of us show you around."

Suni smiles and tries not to cry. These people were so nice to her and it's only her first day...and now she has the chance to perform with a real family.

She wishes her mom could see her now.

"Phone number!" Chrissy shouts from the back. "We're putting you in the theater group chat and then the group chat with everyone else."

"Gotcha!" Suni calls back. She recites her number and the entire team adds her in. Right as they give her a thumbs up, the bell rings, and a man comes hustling through the doors. "There you are!" He gasps, eyes wide as he drops a few papers. "Mark said he let you guys in early?"

"Yeah, he did." Evan replies, helping him pick up the papers. "Hi, McQuaid. You've got a new student."

Mr. McQuaid looks over and spots Suni. He gives her a small smile before heading over to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you, kid! I'm Mr. McQuaid, but the kids who're close with me call me Bryce. You have me in your schedule, yes?"

"Yeah, for one of my class periods." She nods. "Are you alright?"

McQuaid groans before pushing back his blond hair. "First day of school already...this year is going to be so tiring. Speaking of that, I have your schedule so here you go!” He hands Suni her schedule and she skims the list of classes. “Anyways, glad to have you with us, and I'll see all of you after school for the choir set!"

He rushes off and Chrissy sighs. "Fuck, I forgot about that."

"Shit!" Smitty shouts, grumbling as he grabs his backpack and heads off. "I've got choir, thanks Mom for signing me up for that. Who's with me? Simone for sure, right?"

"And me and Jaclyn!" Nogla says excitedly. "Choir's fun."

"It's not with you in it," Smitty sighs, walking out the door. "That's a joke Nogla, you know we love you."

Everyone grabs their respective bags; next to Suni, Marcel snatches her schedule and studies it for a second. "You've got lunch with several of us in 6th period, you'll find us or we'll send you a text. Hm...first period English? Anyone?"

"That'll be me!" Evan calls. "You're with Tyler and I."

Suni thanks everyone and walks off with the two guys. Behind her, Craig gives her a sad glance and walks off with Brian. His other best friend nudges him with a grin. “You’ve got a crush on the new girl, huh?”

“Fuck off,” Craig grumbles. “She’s really cute.”

“She’s not my type, but she is definitely cute though.” Brian cranes his head to catch a final glimpse of the three heading to first period. “Now, as a verified bisexual...”

Craig bursts out laughing and waves at Brock, who joins their party. “Is Brian boasting about his sexuality again?”

“Of course I am!” Brian protests. “Do you know how awesome it is to be able to flirt with anyone? Guys, girls, nonbinary...”

“I’m pretty sure that’s pansexuality.”

“Shit dude, I just like people.” Brian puts his hands up. “No labels here.”

Across campus, several group chats buzz on Suni's phone; she checks them, eyes wide as she realizes how many there are.

Chrissy  began pestering  Suni. 

You have been added to THEATER CREW! 

You have been added to JUNIORS! 

You have been added to GIRL SQUAD! 

"Oh boy," Suni breathes, eyes wide as she looks at her phone. "How many groups are there...?"

"Too many," Evan laughs as he leads her to English. Tyler throws open several doors and shoulders his way through the crowd, not once looking back. 

"I'm guessing that the entire theater group is made up of different grade levels?" Suni guesses as she heads to a classroom. Tyler's the one who answers her as he plops down at a desk and puts his feet up. "Yeah. There's a shitload of seniors and juniors, several sophomores, and two freshmen. Luckily for them, they have a few people who already know them, so they're not fresh meat for the rest of the school."

"Smitty can hold his own!" Evan says cheerfully. "And Ryan has Jon and Luke, and in turn he's got the rest of us. They'll be fine. So Suni, what do you think of this so far?"

Suni taps her chin thoughtfully as the teacher enters the room. She pauses for the perfect moment and then smiles widely, pearly white teeth shining. "I think this is gonna be a great year."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SM— Marcel (senior)
> 
> ASM— Chrissy (senior)
> 
> Spotlights— Brock (senior) and Kryoz (sophomore)
> 
> Lights— Simone (junior) and Ryan (freshman)
> 
> Sound— Nogla (senior)
> 
> Theater— Brian (junior), Craig (junior), Tyler (junior), Kelly (junior), Suni (junior), Scotty (sophomore), Luke (senior), Anthony (senior), Jaclyn (junior), Lui (sophomore)
> 
> Tech Crew— Evan (junior), Jon (senior), Smitty (freshman), Lanai (junior), Melina (sophomore)


	2. first day (act one scene two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to this monster of a story!! this has been in my drafts for about a month, and I’m super excited to write this!!
> 
> I’m not sure what ships I’ll do tbh, there’s so many and I never know which ones to do!
> 
> the povs will switch a lot due to so many characters lol
> 
> please enjoy, I really appreciate it :)

Suni’s first day is...interesting.

In English, it turns out everybody knows Tyler and Evan. Suni in turn becomes popular due to the two already claiming to be her friends. 

Chrissy sends out a mass group text to the main theater chat that includes the tech crew to remind them of tonight. Suni quietly checks it and silences it at the same time, promising herself to read the rest later. 

Chrissy: So! First things first, welcome Smitty, Ryan, and Suni! We're proud to welcome you guys officially to the family. 

Chrissy: Secondly, tonight is our first meeting. We won't have a proper assignment until we finish the choir set. All we have to do is give them a few props, help with the set, and get the lights and sound working. 

Chrissy: Simone, Ryan, and Nogla; we're counting on you. 

Kelly: nogla you're with the choir kids aren't you? 

Nogla: ...yeah? 

Tyler: then how're you gonna do the sound??? you fucking idiot 

Nogla: oh shit 

Tyler: you're such a dumbass, dude 

Nogla: :( 

Ryan: Thanks Chrissy! Well, if it's any consolation, I can help with the lights and maybe sound? Wait, isn't Simone in choir too? 

Chrissy: ...Shit. 

Simone: I can train Ryan to do lights. Once you set up the sound, I'm fairly certain that you don't have to change anything. Only when the solos have parts is when you need to set up different cues. 

Chrissy: Oh shit, we're gonna lose a few of you for Pop Show in the spring too. That's an issue for another day; can you train someone Nogla? 

Nogla: if someone's willing to listen to me ramble for minutes, then yeah I can 

Brock: I feel like I'm the only one who's up for that. 

Nogla: you probably are, yeah. I can train brock if he's up for it 

Brock: For the sake of choir, I will. 

Chrissy: Good man. Us fellow seniors got your back. 

Suni: Thank you for the warm welcome! :) Um, so we just head to the PAC after school and meet up in the theater room? 

Chrissy: Yep! I'm probably blowing up your phones, sorry. Marcel just sucks at technology. 

Marcel: wanna repeat that again? 

Chrissy: Marcel just sucks at technology. 

Suni tries not to laugh and notices Evan grinning at his phone as well. "I really love our group chats sometimes," he snickers, getting up as the bell rings. "See you at lunch Suni!"

"See you!" She calls back, heading to her next class.

Throughout her day, Suni keeps seeing her new friends in the hallways. She spots Kelly walking with Chrissy and Simone, laughing as they head to the bathroom. She sees Smitty, one of the freshmen as he keeps on walking by with one of the spotlight guys—John? 

First day of school and she's already got a giant pack of friends. How lucky can Suni be? 

She has 5th period theater, so she heads down to the PAC and enters through the same doors she did that morning. "Hey Suni!" Brock greets her, already walking with Marcel and Nogla. "Ready for theater?"

"Yeah!" Suni smiles, heading into the classroom. She sits down with the guys and turns to McQuaid, who's writing his name on the board.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to theater!" McQuaid says to the class. Some students are already on their phones, bored and zoning out. He clears his throat and continues. "I'll give a warm welcome to my returning theater kids. Thank you for coming back here every year; Marcel, David, and Brock have been here for all their years in high school and will be graduating at the end of the year!"

 _They're all seniors?_ Suni blinks but applauds them all the same. The door gets thrown open and Craig hustles in with Brian and Kelly at his side.

McQuaid tries not to laugh. "Late as usual, you three."

"Don't worry about it!" Kelly grins, waving him off. "We had to grab some snacks."

He sighs and gestures to the table where everyone else is at. "You know where to go."

Craig takes the seat next to Suni and does his best to ignore the group grinning at him. "How's your first day going?"

"It's going well!" Suni confesses, cheeks tinted pink. "This has been the best first day of my life so far."

Kelly leans forward, eyes narrowed. "You've moved before? How many times?"

"Too many to count," Suni sighs. "My dad just keeps on moving. We're trying to find a stable home, but I'd like to stay in one place for longer than a year and I'd like to graduate feeling good, y'know?"

The group glances at each other; it's Marcel who nods and looks back at Suni. "I know you just met us, but theater is one big family. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask or text us, and half of our group is allowed to have someone over at their house for several days on end. Trust us; we have your back in case something goes wrong."

Suni opens her mouth but gets cut off by McQuaid as he heads on over to their table. "How're my superstars doing?"

"Tired as shit," Brian deadpans. "You're KILLIN' us, Bryce!"

"It's only going to get better and worse from here, Brian." McQuaid laughs. "Who has lunch next period?"

"I do!" Kelly says cheerfully as Suni, Nogla, and Brian nod in unison. "What's up?"

"Well..." Bryce trails off, looking nervous as he glances at the clock. "That new coffee shop opened down the street, and I know no one is allowed to go off campus for a week, buuuutttttt..."

Kelly sighs and Nogla huffs, doing his usual laughter. "Ye want us to go off campus and get ya coffee, hm?"

"Yeah," McQuaid grins, and everyone laughs. "I'll go!" Brian volunteers. "I'll see who's in the lunch period and drag them with me."

The bell rings and they all head off. "You know my order already!" McQuaid calls back, waving as they leave. "See you later!"

"So he's pretty chill with all his students?" Suni questions as Craig and Brock wave goodbye and walk to their next class. Kelly laughs, nodding as she takes her to lunch. 

"Yep! Most of us are seniors or juniors and we've been here all our years. So when the seniors were fishes, McQuaid had his first year here. They pretty much banded together and helped fix the theater department. That's why they're all super close, and then us juniors came along and joined the party."

"Gotcha," Suni grins. 

They make it to lunch; Suni gets a text and looks down at her phone. 

Jon: hey sunny, we're going off campus to grab food. u wanna come? 

Suni: Are we allowed to go? 

Jon: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Suni: Lol sure. Anyone else coming? 

Jon: yeah me you luke tyler and kelly 

Jon: lukes driving 

Suni laughs and looks at the loudest table in the courtyard. Evan's sitting on a table and laughing at something Tyler and Jon are saying. Luke's standing off to the side, rolling his eyes but grinning. 

"All of you are dumbasses!" Kelly shouts at the table. They all simultaneously flip her off and Nogla laughs.

Evan waves goodbye and goes to class, leaving Suni with everyone else. "Let's go!" Luke holds up his keys. Nogla spots Jaclyn heading to the cafeteria and rushes off. 

"Hey, can you drop me off at the Starbucks? McQuaid wants a drink." Brian snickers. 

"Only if someone allows you to sit down," Luke deadpans. "Tyler would've taken us but his truck's in the shop."

"I can give up my spot," Suni offers. "I don't mind." 

"Nah, you're fine." Luke waves her off. "Actually, you and Jon are the smallest ones out of the group so maybe one of you can sit on someone's lap? No offense Kelly."

"None taken, a girl's gotta eat." Kelly shrugs. 

"I'll sit on Tyler's lap," Jon laughs as they head off campus. They walk right out since security isn't even there. Luke goes through the parking lot, gets into his truck, and drives to the sidewalk. "Get in losers!" He shouts. Brian calls shotgun while everyone else piles into the back.

True to his word, Jon plops onto Tyler's lap and the latter sighs. "You better get the fuck off when we drop Brian off."

"No promises," Jon says cheekily. 

Luke drives off and Suni laughs as Brian turns up the radio. An 80s song floats through the speakers and she finds herself singing loudly as they head to Starbucks. They drop Brian off and keep on going to whatever restaurant sounds good. 

They get off at McDonald's and chow down. Suni listens to Kelly and Tyler yell insults at each other, while Jon and Luke talk about parties and who would be the first out of the group to throw one. 

She pauses when she hears, "Dude, Nogla's parents are gone all the time anyways. He's definitely throwing one later." 

"Guys?" She asks hesitantly, and her eyes go wide when all four stop talking and look right at her. "Earlier, Marcel said something about half of the group being able to have people at their houses for days. What's up with that, if you don't mind?"

Luke shrugs. "Some of us have decent parents. Some of us don't. Some are the best and allow their kid's friends to stay over if they need to, regardless of gender or sexuality. They're the ones you wanna have on speed dial." 

"Lemme see who's on that list..." Kelly drums her hands on the table, eyebrows scrunching as she thinks of their giant family. 

"Evan for sure." Jon says instantly. "I...well, I don't know where I'd be without his family."

"I think Lanai?" Luke frowns. "I may be wrong though. Who's the one with...?"

"That's Chrissy," Kelly immediately replies. 

"Brock definitely, and I think Brian." Tyler nods. "Simone and Marcel have pretty decent parents too. I've had to stay over at Marcel's a lot." 

"My parents are mostly on trips," Luke shrugs. "So my house is always open."

Kelly turns to the startled Suni. "It honestly depends. The houses that are available are usually because of two reasons; either the parents allow it, or they're constantly gone. That's what half our group falls under." 

"And the other half?" Suni whispers. 

Tyler lifts his shoulders and drops them. "Not very good parents." 

It's silent before Jon finishes his cheeseburger and shoves back the wrapper. "Let's get some fuckin' ice cream and think of some happy shit. Sound good?"

"Yeah," they all voice in unison. 

Jon gets shotgun so Suni sits in-between Tyler and Kelly as they grab some ice cream. They even pick up Brian from Starbucks so he doesn't have to walk back. 

When lunch ends, Suni's day goes by pretty quickly. She breezes through 7th and 8th and then the day's somewhat over. 

She hustles down to the PAC where Marcel's already walking in. Smitty hops in with Anthony and Scotty and they all wave at Suni.

It takes about ten minutes for everyone to make it inside the auditorium. Marcel stands on top of the stage, pacing back and forth.

"Calm down before you make a hole in the floor!" Scotty hollers, laughing as Marcel flips him off. 

McQuaid walks into the building and everyone sighs. "There you are!" Chrissy says, relieved. "We're about to start with the choir stuff. Did any of you manage to get...?"

"We don't have the songs yet, but we're gonna work on them this week." Jaclyn gets up and hands a piece of paper to Chrissy. "She said something about bleacher formation? There's also going to be a few solos."

"Damn it," Marcel swears. They all turn to look at Nogla and Brock. The former sighs and gets up, Brock getting up as well. "I'll do my best to show him," Nogla mumbles. 

They head up to the sound booth and Suni looks back at the stage. Marcel's still pacing, looking deep in concentration. "I've got it!" He snaps his fingers. "Half the cast grabs props, the other half goes to the build. Bryce, please tell me we don't have to make the goddamn bleachers out of wood."

"No, the school provides for some platforms so nothing collapses. They just...haven't set any of them up yet." McQuaid has the decency to look ashamed, taking a sip of the coffee Brian brought him.

"Nogla's going to be busy with Brock, Simone has to train Ryan, so I'm gonna have Smitty and Jaclyn be our test crew for sound and lights since they're in choir." Chrissy directs them around. "Melina, I'll have you head over to the choir classroom so you can make alterations. I'll send the choir kids to you later for measurements."

The SM and ASM assign and break everyone up, sending them to their spots. Suni ends up in the prop shop, a giant closet full of practically every prop under the sun.

"The difficult part is actually finding it," Anthony tells her before laughing at Craig, who vanishes into a pile of chairs. He pops up in the couch area and gives him a stink eye. 

Time goes by so much faster with the group. They pull out various plants, laughing and telling jokes. Suni finds herself included and she has a wonderful time when rehearsal ends. 

"It's 6:30!" Marcel yells as he kicks everyone out of the prop shop. "Go home, idiots."

"Roger that!" Kelly flicks him off and makes everyone laugh. 

They file out of the PAC and Suni heads to the curb, sitting on a stone wall as she waits for her dad. 

There's movement next to her and she sees Craig sitting down. "Waiting for your parents?" He asks her, and she nods. "Yeah. He might be late though."

Craig's silent for a second. "Does he work late?"

Suni just nods and looks at him. His hazel eyes are bright and he seems genuinely concerned. "All the time. Since Mom died, he just throws himself into work. I usually take the bus in the morning, but it already left for the afternoon."

"I can take you home," Craig offers. "I don't mind."

She stares at him, surprised as he gets up. "What?! Are you sure?!"

"Yeah," he scratches the back of his head, struggling not to blush. "My parents are used to me giving rides and stuff. I can text them and let them know."

Suni really wants to say no, but she knows not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, she doesn't want Craig to know that her dad doesn't get off work for another two and a half hours.

"Okay," she says, and Craig smiles. 

When he drops her off, he waves and Suni giggles. "I hope you're enjoying the school," Craig shouts out his window. "We're really happy to have you with the group. Just wait when we actually have a performance!! Shit gets CRAZY and oh man...just wait and see. It's gonna be great!"

Suni can't help but laugh and nod. "I'm excited then. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll see you then." Craig grins and waits for her to enter her house. Suni unlocks the door and waves before stepping inside, sighing and letting her bag slump to the floor. She allows herself to smile, already ready for tomorrow as she heads upstairs to start on first day homework.

Suni has a family for the first time in years, and she really doesn't want to give them up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates will be varied because I'm not sure of how often I'll get to write, but I'll hopefully be able to do a lot!
> 
> (dani ily)
> 
> SM— Marcel (senior)
> 
> ASM— Chrissy (senior)
> 
> Spotlights— Brock (senior) and Kryoz (sophomore)
> 
> Lights— Simone (junior) and Ryan (freshman)
> 
> Sound— Nogla (senior)
> 
> Theater— Brian (junior), Craig (junior), Tyler (junior), Kelly (junior), Suni (junior), Scotty (sophomore), Luke (senior), Anthony (senior), Jaclyn (junior), Lui (sophomore)
> 
> Tech Crew— Evan (junior), Jon (senior), Smitty (freshman), Lanai (junior), Melina (sophomore)


	3. a tale of families (act one scene three)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ADD ME ON ANIMAL CROSSING POCKET CAMP Y'ALL
> 
> 5757 7718 448

At the end of the week, the choir set is nearly done.

Craig leans back on an auditorium chair and sighs, resting his feet on the seats. "Thank god it's Friday. I'm so fucking tired."

"Big mood," Tyler groans from where he's laying in the aisles. "So...Mini. I got a huge favor to ask of you."

Currently, the cast is helping the crew out with the build. The platforms were nearly set up, Ryan and Brock were moderately trained, and everything was nearly set up into position. The only thing left to do was test out the sound and make sure the cues worked. 

Craig and Tyler were relaxing in the auditorium and just sitting there as everyone headed off to grab some snacks. For a moment, Craig hesitates, but realizes he already knows Tyler's question/favor. "Who was it?"

Tyler laughs. "My mom. You know me so well. So...?"

"It's always going to be a yes, dude." Craig replies, staring up at the lights. "My parents love you a lot. I don't even know why."

A middle finger appears in Craig's vision and he bursts out laughing, grinning as Tyler's blue eyes narrow at him. "Fuck off."

"We won't have rehearsal tomorrow so I'm gonna have a sleepover at my house," Marcel walks into the room and says loudly. "You two up for it?"

"Sure man, Tyler's gonna be staying over anyways." Craig shrugs. Marcel's gaze snaps to Tyler, who doesn't look bothered at all. "Oh? Which parent?"

"My mom," he gets up and stretches. "Usual shit."

Marcel crosses his arms and doesn't flinch when Tyler towers over him. "How bad?"

The doors open and the theater kids come spilling into the room. Suni makes her way over to Craig while Kelly stands off to the side with Chrissy, talking about the weekend. A few of the crew leave and McQuaid tosses his keys to Marcel. "I gotta go, just lock up and then get here early on Monday. Is that cool?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Marcel doesn't break eye contact. Evan and Jon walk over; when they spot the stare down, Evan sighs and heads over to Tyler. "C'mere," he mumbles, taking his other best friend to the side. "What happened?"

As always, Tyler cracks under Evan's warm brown eyes. "Just some bullshit."

"Tyler."

"Fine," he groans, lifting up his shirt. From the angle, only Marcel, Kelly, and Craig can see him. Evan hisses at the span of bruises on his ribs. There's small indents on his shoulder; nail marks, dug in deep. 

"Jesus fucking Christ," Marcel snarls and goes for the first-aid kit. "Why the FUCK didn't you say anything?"

Tyler just shrugs again and accepts the band-aid from him. "I dunno. I'm staying over at Craig's aren't I? Besides, it ain't that bad. I'm fine."

There had been a minor competition last year to see who had the worst parents. Jon thought he had everyone beat due to his alcoholic parents, but then Tyler gave him a run for his money. It was a very shitty competition, obviously, but it gave majority of the kids insight at how some families worked and how shitty it all was. 

The kids coped, they learned, and adapted. That was just how life was. 

"At least my parents have a decent but still very shitty excuse," Jon mutters as he heads on over to inspect the damage. "Hm...fist?"

"Yep."

"Well, fuck." Jon admits. "That was a solid blow." 

"I wasn't expecting it," Tyler sighs, clearly upset at being caught off guard. "That's my fault. Anyways, she left home about two days ago and hasn't been back since. Dad hasn't been there in about two weeks."

Marcel turns and sends everyone home, leaving the few of them to walk out together. Kelly snatches an ice pack and gently presses it to Tyler's chest, growling under her breath. "I'm going to fucking kill her."

Tyler laughs and runs a hand through her silver hair. "Didn't think you cared about me that much, sweet cheeks."

"If you weren't in pain, I'd smack the shit out of you." Kelly snaps. "Look, I've had to patch up a few of our friends before. I know what I'm doing."

Evan, Jon, Craig, Suni, and Marcel watch as Tyler softens and genuinely smiles at her. "I know. I trust you."

Sun's face is a ghostly white as she watches Kelly take care of him. "What...?"

"Poor Tyler," Jon sighs. "I don't appreciate that I know how to treat a decent amount of injuries and then my friends know the best method to take care of me."

They all look back at their dear friend and Tyler just grins at them. "Just a usual day in the life of me."

“Shut the fuck up,” Marcel says with no venom in his voice.

Craig gives Suni a hug and whispers, “I’ll text you later?”

“Yeah,” she whispers back and hurries off to go grab a ride. Craig turns to his best friend and sighs, shaking his head. “Thanks Kelly. I’ll go grab his stuff and we’ll see you guys later.”

The group voices their goodbyes and Craig grabs both bags and heads off, dragging Tyler with him. He refuses to say anything, instead getting both of their keys.

Tyler groans and bumps his shoulder against Craig’s. “Miniiiiiii. I’m fine, dude!!”

Silence.

“I’m very glad you won’t be able to drive for a few more days,” Craig says finally, trying his best to not tear up. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Tyler grabs Craig’s shoulders, spins him around, and crushes him in a hug. “Your ribs—!” Craig yelps.

“Shut the fuck up for once,” Tyler breathes. “Just let me hug you.”

They stay like that for a while.

Craig wipes his eyes and sighs as Tyler pats him on the back. "I just...I've known you for a while, dude. You mean a lot to me. I don't want you getting hurt."

"We all get hurt, Mini." Tyler reminds him. "It just depends on how we deal with it."

The two of them walk to Craig's car and Craig helps Tyler in, making sure the ice pack is secure. "Y'know that my parents are gonna lose their shit, right?"

"You know that I don't mind," Tyler laughs again. "It's nice to have people care about me. So, we're headed to Marcel's tomorrow?"

"Thank god," Craig snorts. "I left some of my drinks there and I wanted to get them back."

"I can guarantee that they're gone."

"Fuck."

Tyler breathes a sigh of relief as they drive off. He hates to admit it, but he's happy that he's got Craig and everyone else in the group. He's got a family that genuinely cares about him. 

It feels nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lemme know what ships you guys wanna see!! gimme suggestions for endgame ships bc tbh I still have no idea which ones will happen
> 
> SM— Marcel (senior)
> 
> ASM— Chrissy (senior)
> 
> Spotlights— Brock (senior) and Kryoz (sophomore)
> 
> Lights— Simone (junior) and Ryan (freshman)
> 
> Sound— Nogla (senior)
> 
> Theater— Brian (junior), Craig (junior), Tyler (junior), Kelly (junior), Suni (junior), Scotty (sophomore), Luke (senior), Anthony (senior), Jaclyn (junior), Lui (sophomore)
> 
> Tech Crew— Evan (junior), Jon (senior), Smitty (freshman), Lanai (junior), Melina (sophomore)


	4. sleepover (act one scene four)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was asked about everyone's grade levels; I figured it'd just be easier if I posted them in the end notes every time. :) 
> 
> (I was totally thinking about making everyone a senior but...that's over twenty people...so I switched it up)
> 
> I'm leaving clues about some people's home lives, I'm wondering if y'all can figure them out ;)

Marcel knows he doesn’t have to ask permission for his sleepover because he knows his parents are fine with it. The only rule he has is the girls have to sleep in the other room.

His parents are pretty cool.

“If you want to jump off the roof, make sure to land in the pool.” His father says as he scoops jelly onto his sandwich. “Just don’t get injured, please, and don’t make any decisions that’ll land you in jail if caught.”

“I know Dad,” Marcel grins as he eats a slice of pizza. “The only plan is to not get caught.”

His dad laughs loudly and his mom sighs. “Honey...”

“What?” Marcel’s dad protests. “Marcel’s a good kid!! Just like his siblings. Aren’t you proud of him, love?”

Marcel’s mom just smiles and walks over to ruffle her son’s hair. "I always am. Who's coming to the sleepover?"

Marcel squawks and moves out of the way. "Mom!! Uh, well, Evan, Jon, Craig, Tyler, Nogla, Suni, and the rest haven't gotten back to me yet."

His mom's smile widens. "Is Simone coming?"

His cheeks burn a bright pink and he looks away, eyes wide as he stares down at his pizza. "...Maybe?"

"Oh my baby boy!" She laughs, wrapping him in a hug. "He's got a crush!!"

Marcel Cunningham had a pretty decent life. His parents loved him, his siblings genuinely cared for him (even if they all teased each other constantly and were off in college), and his friends always had his back. He was a senior who was doing his best to get a head start on college and he was determined to exempt every single exam at the end of the year.

He had to work hard to earn his spot as SM, and he wanted to live up to the role he'd been given. 

"Invite her over!" His mom urges. “Play spin the bottle or seven minutes in heaven!”

Marcel glares at her and sighs as his phone goes off. “Mom, no. If I want to ask her out, I’ll do it my way.”

“She seems like a lovely girl,” his dad comments. “Has anyone else said they’re coming?”

Marcel checks his phone.

Scotty: I’ll be there soon ;)) 

Marcel: for fuck’s sake 

Marcel: if you break into my room again I’m going to fucking kill you

Scotty: ... 

There’s a crash upstairs, and a loud yelp as someone topples over. Marcel’s parents look at each other curiously as Marcel screams into his hands. 

He hurries to his room, struggling to not snap as he throws open his door to see Scott, Anthony, Kelly, and Luke frozen in his room. Brian’s on the floor, grinning as he wipes away his tears.

“What the fuck,” Marcel sighs. “I thought we talked about this. Can’t you enter my house through the front door like normal people?”

“Nope!” Half of them chime in.

At Marcel's window, Jon's head pops up. "Oh, hey dude!! What's up?"

The SM sighs and turns to leave. "I already know for a fact that Evan's with you, which means Tyler and then Craig are down there as well. I'm gonna guess that Suni's at the front door like a sensible person."

Craig's hand shoots up next to Jon. "True!!"

Downstairs, he can hear his mom coo over Suni. "You look adorable! Welcome to our home, we're happy to have you!"

"Thank you!" He hears Suni say shyly. 

Tyler hoists Evan into the room, the former throwing a bag of bottles onto Marcel's bed. Kelly heads on over and grabs the bag, heading downstairs. "I'll be in the kitchen!"

"So is this a party or a sleepover?" Anthony asks, helping Brian up. "I'm just hyped to play some shitty games."

"A bit of both I'm guessing," Luke laughs. He pats Jon on the back and walks downstairs with everyone behind him. "The least we can do is say hi, even if they already know we're here."

The group stomps down the stairs to see Suni, Kelly, and Marcel talking to the latter's parents.

“It’s good to see everyone again,” Marcel’s dad comments. “My wife and I will be leaving soon, so help yourselves! Marcel should be ordering food in the next thirty or so minutes.”

“Most of my friends already climbed through my window so I’ll go order it now,” Marcel groans as he walks off. The pizza place knows him well; it only takes about two minutes for him to place the order and then head back to his idiot group of friends. 

He spots Craig raiding his fridge, frantically looking through his drinks. “Shit, you were right! They’re gone!”

Tyler laughs and winces a bit as he jumps up on the counter, long legs swinging as he watches Mini lose his shit. “I told you dude!”

Marcel doesn’t have the heart to tell Craig that his Monsters were taken by Brian several days ago so he wisely says nothing.

“Chrissy said she can’t come, her parents are making her work again.” Kelly rolls her eyes. “They always do that! She can’t catch a break.”

“Lanai’s busy with the fam,” Brian says while sitting on Marcel’s couch. Anthony tosses him a Wii controller and they start to play Mario Kart.

"Talkin' with Lanai more?" Luke grins, sitting next to Anthony. "We gonna gossip?"

"Don't you have a crush on Brock?" Evan looks up, eyebrows furrowing. "Was I wrong about that?"

Brian's eyes widen before looking away. To everyone's shock, he ends up getting hit by a red shell and Anthony zooms into first place, screeching at the top of his lungs. "SUCK MY DICK!"

"Don't you?" Tyler presses. 

"I'm...not sure." Brian admits. "I don't think he likes me back. I don't see him reciprocating anything, but I still can't help but have a crush. It sucks."

At Marcel's front door, Brock freezes, and his eyes go huge. Anthony finishes in first place and his scream echoes through the house. "YYEEESSSS!!"

John and Smitty run into Brock, both shrieking in surprise. "Oh shit!" Smitty yelps, tripping over John's legs. They both go tumbling down; Brock, who's still in a state of shock, helps them both up and then walks into the house. 

"I wonder what's up with him?" Smitty wonders. "He seemed off." 

John rolls his eyes and pats his back. "Who knows, honestly. Brock is a mysterious guy."

"Brock?!" Smitty exclaims. "No way dude! He's a sweetheart!"

"That's what he wants you to think," John waggles his eyebrows. "Don't believe his lies."

They head inside where everyone greets them. Marcel's parents wave and leave, heading off to wherever. "Be safe!" Marcel's mom calls back. "Love you!"

"Love you more," he replies, waving. "See you guys tomorrow."

The front door closes, Tyler grabs the secret stash of alcohol from Marcel's hall closet, and they crank up the music. John looks over at Smitty, eyes dark as he watches him crack open a bottle of beer and chug half of it. 

No one's noticed yet. Maybe that's the whole point.

Marcel answers the door for his pizza and grins, turning back to his unofficial family. He's their SM; it's his job to make sure they're safe, happy, and motivated. He's gotta make sure he can keep everyone together, including the hard workers, the partiers, and the ones who really need it. 

Although he knows it's gonna be difficult, Marcel knows he can do it with the help of his friends. 

He hopes he can handle the long journey ahead and keep them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> broke this chapter into two parts lol
> 
> hope y'all are having a nice day!


	5. party games (act one scene five)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love subtle hints. they're so fun to write.
> 
> I also enjoy just straight up saying some stuff. it’s fun too lol

Kelly may have a sharp tongue, but her gray eyes are able to watch people without them knowing. 

She watches Jon, noticing that he clings onto Evan like he's his lifeline. There's unspoken tension around them. Their fingers brush against each other, subtle but enough for them to glance at each other. 

She sees John on the other side of his room, sitting next to Craig and looking downcast. The latter puts his hand on his shoulder and whispers something to him. Already knowing the source, she doesn't have to look for Smitty when she hears bottles clinking together.

Kelly already knows why Chrissy isn't there. Her dear senior friend, overworked and stressed to death. The concealer she uses isn't quite enough to hide the dark bags under her eyes. 

Brock's rigid from across the room. She has a very solid guess that he happened to overhear Brian. She wants to interfere, but...no. Not yet.

"Kelly?"

She turns to see Tyler in front of her. His bright blue eyes manage to take her breath away, and she hates that. 

"Yeah?" Kelly answers, noticing that he's favoring his left side. The bruises should be going down due to the ice pack, but Tyler is always stubborn and usually takes them off too early. 

"You alright?" He asks, head tilted. "You seem a bit...off."

She could tell him. She could tell him about...well...

"I'm fine," she grins, and she adjusts her body stance to look relaxed and calm. “Just tired; first week of school is finally over.”

“Can’t wait for finals,” Tyler says sarcastically. “Fuuuunnn.”

Kelly gently nudges him. “C’mon, wanna start some shitty party games to throw our friends into?”

His eyes light up and Kelly curses her heart. “Fuck YES! Thought you’d never ask!”

He rushes off to Evan and grabs him into a headlock, startling Jon with a yell. “LISTEN UP! We’re gonna play spin the bottle! Someone chug something and give me the bottle, we’ve got a game to play!”

“What about seven minutes in heaven?” Brian shouts. “That shit’s classic!”

“We can play it after, idiot.” Tyler retorts. "I just wanna see who gets to make out with someone else."

"Fair point." 

An empty beer bottle gets tossed; Tyler easily catches it and hustles upstairs to the smaller living room, the entire group following. Jon stops as he hears, "Hullo?"

"Nogla?" He asks, opening Marcel's door. The tall Irishman is stuck in his window, struggling to get in. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I thought it was the normal thing?" Nogla admits as he huffs his way in. Jon laughs and goes to help him. "Are his parents gone already?"

"Yeah, they peaced out. Good thing too; we're about to play spin the bottle." Jon grins. "Let's see if we can get Suni and Craig to make out. If not, we'll do our best for seven minutes in heaven."

"Fuck yeah!" Nogla laughs and steps into Marcel's room. They head to the living room where Luke's put the bottle in the middle. Everyone else has sat down, talking excitedly among themselves.

Tyler sits with Suni on his right and Jon on his left. From Suni, it goes Brian, Anthony, Scotty, John, Kelly, and Evan right across from Tyler.

Continuing on, it goes Craig, Brock, Nogla, Smitty, and then Luke who’s sitting right next to Jon.

“Well!” Marcel says; he’s sitting on the upstairs couch, drinking some soda. He’d elected to stay out due to his crush on Simone, who still hadn’t arrived yet. “I’m not kissing any of you assholes because I fully intend to ask her out. If anyone wants to back out, here’s your chance.”

No one moves. Majority of them would rather cut off their hand and wallow in misery as they watch their crush kiss someone else. The wonders of high school.

Surpringly, it’s Evan who’s up to date on everyone’s crush. Oblivious to his own but still caught up with his own group. He glances around, noticing several people try not to look at the other they’d like to date.

Kelly barely stiffens; if anyone knew her well enough, they’d notice her fist clenching and her jaw moving once. But no one truly does so she’s safe.

"Then let's start this shit!" Jon shouts, grabbing the bottle and spinning it. The group cheers as it goes flying. It nearly hits Smitty as it flips around, going past John, Kelly, and then...

It passes Evan. Everyone's eyes go wide as it slowly lands on Craig.

Jon's never backed down from a dare and Craig only backs out if it puts his life in danger. Suni, Tyler, and Evan watch as Jon throws himself over and plants a giant kiss on Craig's lips, laughing as the Brit pretends to dip him and make out even more. 

"You're a good kisser," Jon winks as they break apart. "Take me out some time babe."

Craig bursts out laughing and passes the bottle to Evan. "Here you go!"

Evan rolls his eyes and tries not to notice everyone grinning. His crush on Jon, although reciprocated (even if he didn't know it), was obvious and was the cause of many jokes throughout their several group chats. The odds of landing on Jon were very high.

He spins the bottle and watches with baited breath. It spins, tip pointed and turning from Brian, to Suni, to...

Tyler. 

Kelly, Jon, and Craig (who stopped laughing the moment it landed) stare in equal amounts of fear and shock. There's a hush in the room as the two look at each other. Would Evan...?

Tyler's already opening his arms, grinning. "C'mon Evan!! I know you want me!"

Evan shrugs, laughs, and heads on over. The named three bite their tongues and watch as Tyler leaps up, puts one hand to Evan's back, and dips him. Evan wraps his arms around Tyler's neck and they both giggle as they make out.

They look suspiciously at ease with each other. Kelly exhales slowly as they unlock lips and Evan pats Tyler's cheek, smiling as he lets him go. 

When Evan gets back to his spot, Kelly snatches the bottle and nearly wrenches her wrist as she spins it. It goes flying, the group shrieking as they put their hands up to not get hit. 

It lands on Suni and Craig shoves his fist into his mouth to stifle his gasp. They all know Kelly won't back down.

They lock eyes and Kelly makes her way over, kneeling in front of her. Suni's eyes go huge and she starts to stammer. "I, uh..."

"If you don't want to, you don't have to." Kelly says gently. "It's up to you."

A steely determination surprises Kelly as she watches Suni's eyes light up. "No it's good! I just haven't kissed someone in a long time."

"I hope I live up to your standards," Kelly winks, cupping her face before leaning forward and pressing her lips to hers. Suni is warm and kind and Kelly huffs before laughing as well, still kissing her. 

In the background, Jon and Brian wolf whistle and cheer as both girls giggle. "Nice job!" Smitty howls, throwing his fist into the air.

One by one, more people deal with the bottle that determines everything. Smitty and Scotty are laughing too hard to even properly kiss, but John still looks upset the whole time. Luke presses a kiss to Evan's cheek and Kelly gets to smooch Brian. 

Eventually, Tyler ends up on her.

He gets up and Kelly narrows her eyes as she gets up as well. They face each other and Kelly studies him; his eyes are a vivid blue that still light up her world. His hair is tousled just right and she has the urge to run her hands through it. 

His _stupid_ fucking grin is too much for her. Kelly strides forward, sighing before kissing him. At this point, her crush is growing and she just can't control it. 

Even after her first crush (and girlfriend) rejected her, she's a bit...hesitant to love again. 

(At least she's still one of Kelly's friends.)

When they move away, Tyler whoops and snatches a beer bottle from Marcel's couch. Their SM is just laughing away, phone forgotten on the nearby table. 

Kelly just grins everything off and does her best to ignore her hypersensitivity from everyone around her. She thinks of Suni's kiss, of Tyler's smug face, and the several crushed hearts from half the group. 

The speaker's blasting, her friends are yelling at the top of their lungs, and she drinks to forget, reveling in the way she feels lightheaded and how all her worries melt away. 

On the bright side, her parents won't even notice when she stumbles into her house, hungover and exhausted. A gift and a curse at the same time.

Maybe one day she'll get their attention, but today isn't that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the infinity war trailer came out today. my ap environmental teacher screamed out loud in class when I showed her.


	6. aftermath (act one scene six)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IIIIIIIIIII don't wanna lot for christmaaaaaaasssssssss
> 
> jokes on u guys it's new year's i'm excited for ;D
> 
> ALSO THIS STORY GOT SO SAD SO FAST??? IM SO SORRY that's supposed to come at a later date
> 
> anyways let's get this happy and light shall we? 
> 
> (some of the shit the tech kids do in later chapters...let's just say that it's based on real life experiences)

Monday morning, Simone comes walking into the PAC with warm tea in her hand and a book in the other and heads into the auditorium.

Her phone, still in her back pocket, has been buzzing for the past thirty seconds from her conversation with Lanai.

Lanai: I really can't express how drunk they got!!!!! 

Lanai: duuuuuuuudddeeee 

Lanai: that shit was crazy!!! 

Lanai: I went over that morning to go pick up a few of them and oh my goooood 

Lanai: even brock drank!! that's how you know it was a damn good party. 

Lanai: was it even a party? there were less than twenty people sooooo... 

Lanai: also marcel said you never showed??? I thought you said you were going!!!! 

Lanai: simoooooonnnneeeee 

Lanai: DAMN IT you're doing that thing again aren't you 

Lanai: UUUGGGGGHHHHH 

Simone: Sorry love, I was making sure the cues were properly working. I have to make sure they're correct. As to your question, well, I thought I was going to go but I just wasn't up for it. 

Lanai: aw fuck dude I'll be a bit late bc I'm tired :( 

Simone: That's fine dear. I can give you some tea if you'd like! 

Lanai: Y E S 

Lanai: also some shit went down at the party slash impromptu hang out and we gotta make sure that everyone's doing okay today. they're gonna say 'oh I'm just not feeling well' but that's BULLSHIT okay so we gotta do some good shit 

Simone: I'll see what I can do. :) 

At that exact moment, Nogla comes walking in, yawning and drinking a slushy in a giant cup. "Mornin’," he mumbles, taking a huge gulp of the drink. "I'm fockin' tired."

"Hungover?" Simone asks, trying not to smile as she sets her tea down and sits in her comfortable chair. "Lanai was telling me about the aftermath of the party."

Nogla sighs and shakes his head. "Look, someone's going to bring up the closet incident and it's not going to be pretty. I already know you can keep a secret so c'mere so I can tell you."

He sits and Simone turns to face him. Contrary to popular belief, the two were actually close. Simone had met him her freshman year; Nogla had been a sophomore who frantically struggled to work the lights. He claimed he was always better at sound and although he was right, Nogla had taught Simone some valuable tricks. 

Here they were two years later, wonderful friends due to their partnership on light and sound. They'd come to seek out each other's comfort every once in a while and this was one of those times.

“We were trying to see if we could hook up a few people,” Nogla starts, looking down at his slushy. “Y’know, like Evan and Jon, Craig and Suni, etc.”

Simone nodded; everyone had taken a liking to Suni, especially their darling Craig. They also were rooting for the boys due to the connection they both had with each other.

“It didn’t exactly go well.” Nogla scratches the back of his head. “We started drinking right after spin the bottle and things got crazy from there. A few of us ended up on the roof and I still don’t know how. Majority of us passed out in Marcel’s room and I found Evan and Kelly cuddling in the bathtub, both completely passed out.”

Simone winces. “I think she’s still hurt after...never mind.”

Nogla’s eyes widen. “Wait, what?”

Simone sighs and beckons him closer. “She dated someone in the group. They broke up with her due to certain events and I believe she’s still hurt after it. I would be too, honestly.”

“Who is it?” Nogla presses. “I promise I won’t tell!”

She gently pats his cheek, smiling. “Daithi, we both know you’re terrible at keeping secrets.”

Nogla groans and leans back in his chair. “Fuck, you’re right. I hate that you know me so well.”

Simone giggles and Nogla cracks a grin. "I guess we'll figure it out sooner or later. So anyways, we all woke up feeling like shit and it turns out that Craig and Suni fell asleep in the closet."

He pauses for a minute, sighing before putting a hand to his forehead. "It was just nasty. A few of us thought they banged, there was some confusion with Evan and Kelly, and it was a mess. It didn't help that Tyler and Jon drunkenly made out too."

Simone blinks, taking a sip of her tea. "Oh. Well, shit. What's the state of everyone so far, and how well is our SM and ASM doing?"

"They're all kinda doing shitty," Nogla admits. "I think Marcel's the best out of them though. He only drank a bit after you never showed. Poor guy; he was bummed because he wanted to ask you out—son of a BITCH I'm so sorry."

The junior's eyes go huge and she stares down at her drink, processing his sentence. "He...likes me?"

Nogla slams his head onto the desk and watches as a group makes their way to the stage; it's Melina, leading Scotty, John, Smitty, Anthony, Lanai, and Jaclyn. She makes them stand in a line and has Jaclyn take down notes as she grabs some tape out of her bag.

"Measurements," Nogla mutters. "Fucking hell, Simone. I'm so sorry."

There's a knock at the door. Simone gets up to open it and manages to smile at Ryan, who looks surprisingly cheerful this early on a Monday. "Hi Simone! Is there anything you need me to do right now?"

"I actually need you to be honest with me," she says firmly. "Does Marcel have a crush on me?"

Simone really isn't a terrifying person. She usually falls under the ranks of _adorable and sweet and kind and the group would do anything to keep her happy._

The only person who has been nominated to that rank would be Suni; Jaclyn's dating Nogla, Melina and Anthony looked like they were about to go out (and if they could date those two assholes, they definitely didn't reach that rank), Chrissy would kick anyone's ass, Lanai dealt with Evan, Jon, and Brian 24/7, and Kelly was, well, Kelly.

Simone was the precious cinnamon roll that people would kill for. She genuinely has a good amount of power in their group, and she uses this to her advantage as she stares at Ryan.

Ryan, merely a freshman, is awestruck and can only stare in pure fear. "Uhhhh..."

"Ryan."

He gulps and exhales, sweat beading on his forehead. "...Yeah. He does. Oh my god he's going to kill me."

"I won't let him," Simone reassures him. "Don't worry love, Nogla spilled the beans first."

Inside the sound booth, Nogla moans and hits his head against the desk again. 

"Oh thank god, I'm glad it wasn't me. Best of luck!" Ryan grins and hurries off, probably relieved as he heads back downstairs. Simone walks back into the sound booth and laughs as she goes to pat Nogla's head. 

"It's alright Daithi!" Simone laughs, giving him a hug. "I'm happy you spoiled it. Now that means I get to do this!"

She hurries to Nogla's station and turns on the microphone, gently tapping on it. "Can any of you hear me?"

The group on stage gives her a thumbs up and she smiles widely. "Lovely! Now, as I've been told something about Marcel, I'd like to have our wonderful SM make his way to the stage please!"

She can see the rest of the group from Marcel's party enter the auditorium. Nogla was right; they look like shit, but if she can manage this, then she can kill two birds with one stone and make herself and her friends happy.

To her excitement, Marcel walks in with McQuaid next to him. "What's going on? Is something wrong?" He asks, staring up at the sound booth.

Nogla gets up and heads to Simone's lights. He sets some cues, having a spotlight shine right on the middle of the stage. Simone proudly gestures to the stage, where everyone gets off and Marcel takes their place.

"I'd like to dedicate this song to the darling of my life," Simone declares. "To Marcel, someone I've managed to befriend and truly care for. You've won me over, dear, and this is my appreciation for you."

I'm Yours by Jason Mraz comes floating out of the speakers that encompass the auditorium. Everyone's jaw drops as Simone uses her choir talent to sing along, serenading Marcel as he stares up in shock. 

It's fairly obvious what the intent is. When Simone sings part of the chorus, "I'm yours," Marcel throws down his backpack, jumps off the stage, and practically runs up the stairs, shaking a bit as he kicks open the sound booth door. 

He hurries in; Nogla turns off the spotlight and rushes out as Simone puts down the microphone. The song's still playing as Marcel takes Simone by the hand, cups her cheek, and leans in to kiss her. 

The roar from their audience shakes the building. Everyone's pretty much screaming as Simone smiles, pressing one final kiss to Marcel before pulling away. "I'm glad you liked me back," she whispers, looking up at him. "I was too scared to make a move but someone told me about your secret. Now you know mine."

"It was Nogla, wasn't it?" Marcel asks, and Simone bursts out laughing. "Yes, it was."

"I'd go fight him, but he just helped me get with my crush so I guess I owe him." Marcel grudgingly sighs. "Now, I'd like to treat you to dinner tonight. Would that be alright?"

"That would be wonderful!" Simone beams. They walk downstairs hand in hand, ready to take on the world together.

Simone may not be a fighter, or someone to confront another, but she does her best to help others. 

And as for today, she managed to cheer her family up and ended up with the boy she'd had a crush on for several months.

It's been a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish some of the biggest authors in the bbs fandom would come back and write more :( I know we're all busy with school and other things, but I feel a bit down when only a few stories update every once in a while.
> 
> I still can't help but reread all of them tho. they're just so GOOD.
> 
> (I recommend Headlights by UWotMaTe because I sobbed my eyes out at the end holy SHIT)


	7. realizations (act one scene seven)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy birthday to jade harley and jake english love y'all

Brock knows he'll have to confront Brian at one point, but he can't bring himself to do it as a few more days go by. 

The first choir concert approaches during the week. Nogla continues to run Brock through the cues until he knows them by heart. Simone does the same for Ryan, hurrying through until it's showtime and they have to leave.

They join Jaclyn and Smitty and head to the choir room, leaving Brock and Ryan to run the show. Ryan keeps the house lights on as families pile into the auditorium, finding their respective spots. 

"So," Ryan starts off, looking over at Brock. "You doing alright?"

The senior turns to him, frowning a bit. "Yeah? Why?"

"You just look...unhappy." Ryan replies, making sure the lights aren't too bright. "I just wanna make sure you're okay."

Brock laughs and checks his sound cues, letting some instrumental music into the house. "You're a good person, Ryan. You're a wonderful addition to this crew. Well, we all have some issues, and mine's just a simple crush. My problems aren't as bad as others."

"But they're still problems," Ryan reasons with him. "Any way I can help?"

"Maybe?" Brock shrugs. "If you know how to talk to someone like Brian, then yeah dude please help me out."

Ryan's mouth drops open a bit. "It's BRIAN? So you...and Lanai..."

Brock sighs and shoves his face into his hands. "I know. We both like him. Awesome right?"

There's a knock at the door and Simone pokes her head in. Her red hair is put up into a ponytail and she's wearing the typical black dress that the choir kids are forced to wear. It would've looked ugly, but Simone manages to make it work. "Everything alright?" She asks, smiling at them. "Marcel and Chrissy are on their way here."

"Was anyone else coming to the performance?" Ryan asks, doing his best to peer out into the crowd. "Smitty's singing, isn't he?"

"Yeah, that's why John's going to be here." Brock answers. "Everything's fine, Simone. Just dealing with stuff."

"Love problems?" She asks, looking sympathetic as she goes to pat Brock's back. "I'm sure Brian will resolve his own thing sooner or later. In the meantime, you shouldn't stay caught up on him. I hate to suggest this, but maybe ask someone to pretend to flirt with you? See what his reaction will be?"

Brock lets out a low whistle, making Ryan and Simone both laugh. "I never thought I'd hear that from you, Simone! What's Marcel done to you? And I'm surprised you aren't rooting for Lanai?"

Simone shrugs. "Well...it's honestly up to Brian. But the crew and I have talked about it more, and we think that you and Brian are better for each other. Brian and Lanai just mess with each other 24/7. We think they're better off as friends."

"Is this about Brian and Brock?" Marcel comes walking in, hurrying to kiss Simone's cheek. "I 100% agree; Brock's a better match for Brian."

"Guuuuyyssss," Brock whines; the other three laugh and coo at him. "What if he doesn't like me like that?"

At that, Marcel and Simone's face drop. Ryan looks startled at the sight. "Uh...?"

"Brock," Marcel says, looking a bit sad. "We both know that Brian needs you. With his parents..."

"I know." He says simply. "I know."

Chrissy comes in and throws her hands into the air. "Simone! They need you with Jaclyn!"

"Shit!" She yelps, rushing out of the room and downstairs again. "See you guys later!"

Marcel exhales as Simone leaves, turning back to the group with a nervous grin. "You have the flowers right?"

Chrissy smirks and hands over the giant bouquet of roses she was hiding behind her back. "I sure do."

The four of them get ready and into position. Marcel looks at Ryan and nods; the freshman moves the slider down, causing the house lights to dim. Brock turns on the sound and hands Marcel the microphone, watching as he gets hyped.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to choir's first performance of the year!" Marcel reads from his script. "We would first like to introduce..."

Ryan turns on the lights for the stage and Chrissy makes sure everyone is in the right spot. The concert starts, the crew sits down, and wait for their cues. 

"Evan's here," Marcel confirms as he looks at his phone. "He's sitting with Kryoz in the section below us. McQuaid's in the audience somewhere as well." 

"So are we gonna talk about how to get Brock to go out with Brian?" Ryan asks, snickering as Brock turns to him horrified. "No!" He hisses, eyes wide as he looks at Chrissy. "Don't!"

It's too late. Chrissy raises an eyebrow, turning to them. "Brock? What's going on?"

The senior groans and weakly gestures to Ryan. There's no hiding from Chrissy; once she has bits and pieces of something, she will work nonstop to get all of it. "I have a crush on Brian. I don't know if he likes me back."

Chrissy shrugs. "Of course he does. It's super obvious."

Brock sinks into his chair and sighs. "I don't want anyone to tell him, but I can't do it myself."

"Simone said it herself!" Ryan protests, keeping his voice down. "Have someone flirt with you and make him jealous."

Their ASM snaps her fingers. "Ryan, you're a genius."

Marcel looks up from his phone, eyes wide. "Guys? Brian's here. He's in the audience with Evan and Kyroz."

Chrissy taps her chin. "Hm...how about Evan? Brian won't be jealous of John, and if the actual Jon were here, we'd just tell him. Have Evan make it obvious he's coming to see you and then flirt with you."

"Oh, boy," Brock whispers as he texts his friend. 

Brock: Evan...I have a huge favor to ask from you. 

Evan: oh hey brock! :D I'm assuming this is about brian? 

Brock: Crap. 

Evan: LOL. don't worry dude, I'll help you get him jealous! I'll be super obvious about it too ;) 

Evan: but seriously. I've got your back! kryoz knows about it too so he'll be my partner in crime. 

Brock: Before I die from embarrassment, where's Jon? 

Evan: he's at my house, he didn't want to come. I said I'd bring him dinner so he's probably taking a nap rn. 

Brock: Gotcha. Well...thank you. I really appreciate this. 

Evan: no prob! see ya at intermission. 

For some reason, Brock's wondering if Brian will actually get jealous.

He's kind of excited.

* * *

Ryan turns down the stage lights and lifts the house ones, watching as Evan leans over in his seat to whisper to Brian. Brock turns on the microphone and hands it to Marcel; their SM declares, "Intermission has begun! We will have a ten minute break and then resume the concert."

Meanwhile, Kryoz winks at Evan, and he sets his plan into motion. "I'm excited to see Brock," Evan says dreamily. 

Brian looks up and frowns unknowingly. "What?"

"I'll be back in ten minutes, I'm gonna go hang with that cutie." Evan gets up and heads off, trying not to laugh as he hears Brian's footsteps behind him. They reach the sound booth doors and Evan turns, pretending to be surprised as he looks at him. "I didn't think you were coming with me!"

Brian shrugs, trying to look nonchalant. "Well, I wanna see my friends too, y'know."

"Hey, if I ask Brock out, do you think he'll say yes?" Evan asks excitedly as he pushes open the door. Brian's jaw drops as he stares and watches Evan get welcomed by everyone. He heads to Brock and Brian's eyes are huge as he sees Brock shyly smile at him. 

"It's working," Marcel grins as Chrissy snickers. 

Before Brian gets ready to storm out, Brock gets up and walks over to him. "Hey," he murmurs, giving him a small smile. "That was just a plan to get you jealous. Um...I'm super bad at this, but would you like to maybe hang out after one of our rehearsals? Just the two of us?"

Brock's nervous as shit. He's never asked anyone else out before. Brian's the one that pulled both girls and guys and never stayed with them for too long, but after Brock learned about his parents, he understood the reason why his dear crush never allowed himself to get close to anyone.

But Brock had broken that curse, and here they were now.

Brian's face slowly turns red. "So Evan isn't going to ask you out?"

"Nah," Brock giggles, watching as Brian sags in relief. 

"Oh good," Brian remarks. "I'll take you up on that offer. Uh, I gotta go, I'm bad at this. See you later!"

He takes off running before Brock can see his bright red face, leaving the rest of the crew to burst out laughing.

Many realizations were reached at that concert. Especially for Brock; he realized that he'd give the stars to see Brian turn that red again. 

He also realized that he had an official date. 

"Finally!" Evan shouts, and Brock puts a hand to his own red cheek and smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im doing SAT retakes tomorrow bc I didn't like my score and I have to be at school by 7:45 am and I want to die
> 
> wish me luck and I'll be back tomorrow to tell y'all how it went <3


	8. too close for comfort (act one scene eight)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit I'm tired
> 
> (I don’t have colors for texting for Smitty and Kryoz. I had to use so many colors for everyone else that I ran out and I can’t do blue/red for Smitters so I’ll just have various characters answer for them.)
> 
> HI CHINXINO5 I LOVE YOUR STORIES THANK YOU SO MUCH <33

"So how was the concert?" Jon asks as he walks in with Evan by his side. His best friend laughs as he holds open the PAC door for him. "It was fun! Simone and Jaclyn are really good at singing, actually."

"How were Nogla and Smitty?" Jon snickers. To his surprise, Evan's expression morphs into a dreamy look and he pretends to fan himself. "Dude, they were fucking incredible. Smitty's voice could literally be used in a church choir and Nogla is super fucking good at singing in general."

Jon nervously laughs. He can't sing for SHIT. “Isn’t Daithi good at guitar?”

“Is he?” Evan asks excitedly, grinning. “Holy shit, we could perform together!”

Jon just laughs and gently nudges Evan, careful to favor his left wrist. They walk into the auditorium and look on as Chrissy stands on stage, pacing back and forth. “There you guys are!” She cries, hurrying down to them. “Something’s up. I need to talk to the crew before the cast, but I can’t find Smitty or Kryoz anywhere!”

“What’s up?” Evan frowns, looking confused as he glances at Jon. 

Chrissy looks exhausted as she runs her hands through her hair. “I have word on what our play is going to be. We need the spotlights for a few scenes and Smitty’s going to be very essential for the run crew because we genuinely need a good amount of props for this.”

“What’s the play?” Jon asks. His side was still hurting; it was the reason why he had stayed home from the concert. He didn’t know how long he could keep it from Evan, but he’d be damned if he wouldn’t try. 

“Wizard of Oz.” Chrissy confesses. “I’m worried about Smitty though. Can one of you please get to him??”

“I’ll go,” Jon salutes. “I can take Luke’s truck. Be back soon.”

He hurries off before Evan can stop him, a shocked look spreading over his face.

The thing is, Jon knows exactly where Smitty’s at. He knows his home life through Luke and then Ryan. 

It was eerie, to see something he’d grown up fearing being the one source of comfort for Smitty. The poor freshman had a world of hurt he’d rather avoid. 

When he finds Luke, his dear friend nods immediately before driving to John’s house. They know where he keeps the key. 

(It’s in plain sight but impossible to get to. Jon’s seen Nogla and Tyler work together to get it, Lui scale the house itself, and a very long line of people that swayed on each other’s shoulders that included himself, Luke, Kelly, and a few others.)

Jon’s a bit sad that he’s good at climbing to get to and away from things, but he shakes that thought out of his mind as he scales the house and snatches the key. When he lands, he winces, and Luke practically pounces on him.

“What happened.” It isn’t a question, it’s a statement, and Jon knows he’s been caught.

“Jade,” he spits out, and Luke’s eyes go huge. “She came home to grab some stuff. Almost got caught, I let her go before Dad found her. He realized what happened and I’m hurting a bit.”

“Fucking hell,” Luke snarls. “Why didn’t you sneak out? Why the FUCK did you think staying was a good idea?!”

Jon shrugs as they unlock John’s house and step inside. As they both predicted, the smell of alcohol is strong, and they recognize Smitty’s backpack on the couch.

“Can’t exactly get out when I’m passed out, dude.” He points out as they ascend the stairs. Luke opens his mouth—probably to yell, but Jon never gets to know—right as Kryoz’s door opens.

“Hey guys,” John mumbles, looking exhausted as he yawns. “Chrissy sent you, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, but we’re here to check on you both too.” Jon says firmly. “Where is he?”

Wordlessly, Kryoz pushes open his door and they spot the curled up lump of Smitty on John's bed.

“I’m gonna have to use so much Febreeze before my parents get back from wherever they're at,” Kryoz mutters. “The smell of alcohol is everywhere.”

Luke turns to talk quietly to him while Jon makes his way to the bed, sighing as he sits next to Smitty. “Hey, dude.”

There’s a mumble beneath the blankets and Jon manages to smile. “We’re getting our first assignment. It’s the Wizard of Oz.”

At that, Smitty cracks open one eye, and Jon tries not to breathe heavily as he notices how bloodshot they are. “Deadass?”

“Yeah,” he whispers out. “But I need you sober before you go on the run crew with me, Evan, and Lanai.”

Smitty chokes on a sob and Jon puts his arm around him, gently patting his back and whispering kind words into his ear.

“Why are you so good at this?” The freshman mumbles, tears welling in his eyes. “It’s almost like...oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I am too.”

Smitty tries to say something but chokes on his dry throat. Luke hands over a glass of water and Jon carefully helps him up, sad as he lets him drink a bit before talking.

“You’ve had experience with this,” Smitty whispers. “How...how do I stop?”

Jon gives him a sad smile. “It’s not me. I just deal with the aftermath of it a little too much.”

Smitty’s eyes go huge before Jon pulls back his hoodie sleeve. There’s so many scratches there, bruises and deep cuts overlapping. Hesitantly, Smitty reaches out, but then chokes again and starts to cry.

One looks like a cigarette burn and it looks particularly fresh; the freshman points at it, struggling to say something. “What happened?”

“My older sister came home.” Jon says simply. “She worked her ass off to go to college and she actually made it. Every once in a while, she comes back when it’s nighttime so she can grab some things because my parents don’t let her back in the house. It’s mostly my dad though; but I’m always up so I always get her in. This time though, she almost got caught.”

Jon looks down at the burn and laughs bitterly. “I got her out of there before my dad could do anything. When he realized what happened, he came after me.”

“Fuck,” Smitty whispers. “I’m so sorry, Jon.”

The senior’s shoulders hunch before he laughs and then cries. “I’m so fucking delirious. I’m so tired so I try to stay at different people’s houses just so I don’t get my daily dose of being hit or whatever. Isn’t that fucked up?”

“What about Evan?” Smitty asks, sobering up as he talks to Jon. The latter shakes his head immediately. “His parents have an idea of what’s going on but I refuse to tell them. They’d get CPS involved and I won’t be able to handle that pressure.”

“Yes, but what about EVAN.” Smitty presses. “Don’t you like the guy? Can’t you talk to him about this? He’s one of your best friends!”

Jon wipes his tears away. “Nah. I don't want him to worry about me."

"What?!" 

The exclamation comes from Kryoz, surprisingly. Jon looks over, startled as he looks at the sophomore. He looks upset as he angrily gestures to the room. "You don't want him to WORRY? That's BULLSHIT!"

"Dude," Luke tries to say, but Jon shushes him. 

"Imagine you're in Smitty's shoes." Kryoz snaps. "And Evan's me. How would you feel if you drank yourself blackout drunk with no warning? How would you feel if you found your best friend passed out on your fucking porch in the middle of the night with not a single text or anything? Would you worry?"

Ah, shit.

There have always been times where Jon's considered going to Evan's or someone else's house after his dad finds him. There's always the thought that he'll pass out if he keeps going forward. He finds a sad comfort in Tyler, and love in Evan. Luke's his backbone and everyone else has stuck by his side.

If he woke up one day to see Evan nearly dead on his porch...

Thankfully, Jon knows that Evan's parents would rather die than hurt their own son, so he knows it'll never happen. But if the situation was reversed, he would bring down heaven and raise hell to make sure he was safe. The thought of it engulfs Jon in a burning rage that makes his hands tremble.

"Exactly," Kryoz mutters. "If I get Smitty to help with his problem, YOU have to talk to Evan. Promise me."

Jon, stubborn as shit, turns to Smitty and observes him. He's decent at figuring out body language; he's not as good as Kelly, but he knows the signs of anger and bad intent.

Smitty has dark bags under his eyes. He's exhausted and his body's shaking due to no food and a bit of water in his system. His skin's cold, he looks pale, and Jon wraps an arm around the freshman and turns back to John. "I promise."

Kyroz nods, tears filling his eyes as he walks over to collapse on the two of them. Luke joins them a second later, and Jon sends a text out.

Jon: hey 

Jon: sorry but im skipping school 2day 

Jon: ill be over 4 dinner 

Jon: i have something rlly important to talk 2 u about 

Jon: thx for always being there for me 

Evan: are...are you alright? is something wrong? 

Evan: jon???? do I need to get you???? please talk to me, I'm really worried. 

Jon: no its okay. im just feeling really grateful 4 u. 

Jon: i figured id finally tell u about whats going on with me and my fam bc something bad happened again and id like ur help 

Evan: oh, jon...I knew something had been going on, but I was too scared to pry. thank you for trusting me with this. 

Evan: what made you change your mind? 

Jon: i saw smitty rn and it was 

Jon: a little too close for comfort 

Evan: I understand. I'll be always here no matter what. I...care for you very much, jon. you're super important to me. 

Jon: u 2 dude :) 

Jon leans back on Kryoz's bed, wraps his arms around the people he cares about, and takes a long deserved nap away from his problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I woke up at 6 am, made it by 7:30, slept during the breaks, didn’t get out till 1 pm, and took about an hour nap and I’m glad tomorrow’s sunday lol
> 
> GUYS I'M WATCHING NOGLA AND JACLYN'S ANNIVERSARY Q&A STREAM AND IM DYING BECAUSE THEYRE SO CUTE TOGETHER


	9. game plan (act one scene nine)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we've finally reached the actual theater part of this story LOL
> 
> it only took me nine chapters :')
> 
> this is a continuation immediately from last chapter *thumbs up*
> 
> also you guys are the best! thank you! <3

Evan can't help but worry as he chews his lip and locks his phone. Of course he was worried about Jon; how couldn't he be? Jon gave him a breath of fresh air; he was always why Evan laughed himself to tears, why Evan found hope in the morning and love in his heart. 

Evan's parents, two wonderful people with nothing but love and kindness in their hearts, immediately took Jon in when Evan was a freshman and he was a sophomore. Since Jon was really good at hiding things, it took Evan months to realize something was wrong with his best friend's home life. 

They had countless sleepovers, shopping extravaganzas, midnight talks, buffets, and the nights where they'd lay on Evan's roof and look at the stars.

Jon, even from a life not so great, was kind and smart and sought out the good in people. He took care of Tyler when they learned the worst about him as well, taught a few friends the basics of first-aid, and kept them laughing and happy.

And Evan realized he was in love with him.

He hadn't dated anyone in a long time; the last person was an ex-girlfriend who he just...grew apart with. But Jon made him feel like he was a shining star and Evan wanted his crush to find home in him. 

He wanted to ask him out. 

"So?" Chrissy asks, staring at Evan as the crew settles down in their chairs. "What's the word?"

Evan gives a half-hearted shrug. "Jon and Luke are staying with them for the rest of the day."

Chrissy swears and Lanai frowns. "Hey, it's alright! Jon always catches on quick with Evan and Kyroz will learn his roles quickly. It's okay."

"But—" Their ASM gets cut off by Marcel, who puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Go sit. I've got this one."

Without a word, she goes to sit down in the chair, and Evan quietly sympathizes with her. Her parents were super hardcore and never let her rest. AP honors classes were the only ones she had and they forced her to get a job as well. She was obviously the ASM too, which was still a very important role. 

Chrissy was exhausted. Evan hoped she'd get the rest she so desperately needed.

"Okay everyone," Marcel begins. "We've got our first assignment. It's gonna be...Wizard of Oz!"

"YES!" Simone and Ryan yell, leaping to their feet. "FINALLY!"

Everyone laughs as Marcel smiles down at them. "I know you've been wanting to do this for a long time, Simone. That's why I finally got permission to start working on the play."

Melina raises her hand, eyes twinkling. "How many costumes are we going to need?"

"We can recycle some of them from our past years," Marcel answers. "I'll get the songs up to the sound booth soon. Brock, when Kyroz feels better, you'll have to learn each of your cues together. I already know you've got this in the bag. Simone, Nogla, Ryan, we'll set out the script and insert your own cues as well."

Marcel turns to Evan and Lanai. "I need you both on build. I'm not sure how we'll get Glinda's bubble to work, but we need Lui with pyrotechnics for Elphaba."

"Don't you mean the Wicked Witch of the West?" Evan asks, amused as Lanai snickers. "Watch any musicals lately?"

Marcel's cheeks darken and he growls. "Jon's with you on build and have Smitty work in the prop shop. That fucker could find a needle in a haystack."

"I'll assign the cast as soon as possible," Marcel thinks out loud. "So Dorothy, Toto, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man, the two Witches, Oz...anyone else I'm missing?"

"We need a Munchkin and Flying Monkey." Brock replies. "That's our entire cast."

"I'm so excited," Nogla confesses, and they all laugh. "I really love this movie!"

"Alright!" Marcel stomps his foot. "We've got shit to do and work on after school! I expect to see all of you here and working!"

"Sir yes sir!" They all yell, trying not to laugh.

Evan just hopes his day goes by fast.

* * *

And it does, thankfully.

Before he knows it, 8th period has ended, and Evan's hurrying down to the PAC as he always does.

This time, the entire cast has gathered around Marcel, who’s putting up the auditions list. They’re all shrieking as they spot the title of the play.

“FINALLY!” Brian yells at the top of his lungs. “I’ve been waiting for so long!”

“Worry about that later, we have rehearsal to get to!” Craig laughs, taking Suni with him to the auditorium.

Evan finds himself sitting next to Kelly and Brian. All three of them were juniors; despite some of the seniors being goofballs, the trio could be deadly serious at times and they were always mistaken for being seniors themselves. Kelly could be stoic or shouting profanities; Brian, although always laughing and full of jokes, was staring at the stage with his jaw set. 

Evan was still worried about Jon so he stays silent and watches McQuaid smile at all of them. "Hello everyone! As you've noticed, we have a new performance!"

The class roars in excitement and McQuaid chuckles. "Yes, yes. The Wizard of Oz has been highly requested for about two years now. We have several roles open and enough people to fill all of them! Chrissy, I trust you've equipped our crew with what they need to do?"

"Yep," Chrissy mumbles from her seat next to Scotty. "They're good."

"Excellent! We'll have the set foundations done by either today or tomorrow so our build crew can get on that. Melina, have you taken everyone's measurements?"

"Almost!" The sophomore calls back. "I just need Evan and a few others."

"Alrighty! I'll see who wants to audition for each role and the crew will get started on the script!" McQuaid claps his hands and the entire room bursts into chaos. The cast books it to the stage while the sound booth crew heads upstairs, already talking about the script.

Evan follows Brock and Tyler to Melina. She has Marcel holding her notebook as she smiles, ruffling back her short black hair. "So Anthony, hm?" Tyler snickers as Melina goes to measure him first. She gives him a dirty look and rolls her eyes. "Just because I can find a significant other and _you_ can't..." She turns her nose to the ceiling as she mutters something to Marcel, who grins and writes it down. 

"Arms out!" Melina says sharply. "I'm getting these measurements so I don't have to do it later. Alterations are going to be the worst if someone grows an extra inch or two!"

"Fair point," Evan agrees. "Thanks, Melina."

She turns and smiles, looking to his right as Chrissy comes walking up. "Evan, we won't have the set dimensions ready till tomorrow. The cast is doing their own thing and Lanai's helping Ryan with grabbing the right lights."

Evan frowns while Brock gasps. "So that means...?"

There's a twinkle in Chrissy's eye as she smiles. "You can go early with no consequences."

He doesn't need to be told twice as he jumps off the stage, grabs his bag and keys, and takes off running. The chorus of "Bye, Evan!" rings in his ears and he makes it to his car. Revving the engine, Evan speeds out of the parking lot and then home.

His window is open; Jon's already there. 

Evan bursts into his house and his parents turn to look at him, surprised at his entrance. "Honey?" His mom asks, looking concerned. "Are you alright? Why are you here early?"

"Jon said you wouldn't get here till about 6:40," his dad adds. "Doesn't rehearsal end at 6:30? It's only 4:30, kiddo. You doing okay?"

"Yeah," Evan breathes. "I just gotta talk to him about something important and they let me go early."

"Well, you know where he's at." His mom gestures up the stairs. "We love you very much."

"I love you both too!" He gives them a quick hug and hurries up, shaking as he opens the door to his room. In his bed, Jon's laying there, playing his old 3DS. As Evan stares, he can hear Mario's cry of terror as he plummets to his death.

Jon grunts. "I'm stuck at 120 stars. Also, you're home early. What's up?"

Without a word, Evan crosses the room, leans down, and kisses Jon on the forehead. "That's for being safe," he whispers, sitting down next to him. "I...I know your parents are like Tyler's, but yours get drunk and that's not an excuse but I'm scared of the extent of your injuries because alcohol makes people do crazy things—"

"Evan." Jon's bright blue eyes silence his mouth. "I'm going to talk to you about this. No more running."

"Promise?" Evan whispers, and Jon smiles with the remembrance of that sentence hours ago. "I promise."

So the two of them sit, and they talk.

Jon tells him stories of how Jade had protected him while they were growing up; when Jade had the dream to leave, he had supported her, and took most of the blows so she could earn her freedom. He tells him of the times where any object was used, damn the consequences. No one would ever stay because the toll was too much, and then Luke came along.

He tells Evan of the times where he wasn't allowed to eat for a few days and Luke, along with his new friend Ryan, would scale Jon's house and bring him food to keep him alive. 

Jon tells Evan _everything._

When it's over, Jon's wiping away tears, and Evan crushes his best friend in a tight hug. "I will never let your parents get close to you ever again," he whispers, eyes wide as he feels Jon shake beneath him. "You're gonna live with me from now on. If it's alright, I'd like to tell my parents so we can get CPS on them."

"Y'know what? Fuck it, let's do that." Jon laughs, leaning into Evan's hand as he sighs. "I want a life better than that."

"And if you'll allow me, I'd like to give you that life." Evan replies as he holds Jon close to him. "But I'm super tired right now. Let's go to bed."

Jon's heart swells and he nestles beneath the covers with him. In the silence and the dark, Evan listens to him fall asleep, and he quietly sighs.

One day he'd like to tell Jon about his feelings, but today isn't that day. For now though, he's given Jon a home, and that's good enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE AND DIRK STRIDER I LOVE Y'ALL


	10. prop shop (act one scene ten)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSE AND ROXY LALONDE ILY <3
> 
> I have a new story in the works, it should be about six chapters and focuses on h2ovanoss lol
> 
> I enjoy writing rip

Smitty, desperate to do something, chugged water, ate some microwaved macaroni, and struggled to get out of bed.

Kyroz catches him brushing his teeth. “And where do you think you’re going?”

“Kewl,” Smitty mumbles around his toothpaste. John sadly has experience in deciphering what Smitty’s trying to say so he sighs and looks at Smitty’s stark white hair. 

“Are you feeling up for school?” John presses, watching as Smitty spits out the toothpaste and stretches. His back pops and the freshman grins.

“I’m not sure, but I know I have to go back anyways. I’ve missed too many school days already. Besides, I want to go work on the play!”

Kyroz winces and quietly tells himself not to check his phone.

Smitty’s made his mind up. He’s definitely going, and for Jon and Kyroz’s sake, he’s going to make an attempt to stop drinking.

He honestly didn’t know when it had started. His parents always went on business trips and never usually returned home. Sometimes they went by themselves and they’d come back smelling like someone else.

Smitty wasn’t an idiot. He just didn’t care enough that his parents were probably going to file a divorce, but deep down part of it did hurt.

So he turned to drinking, because he’d seen it in movies and read it in books and it was fun! He hated some of the taste but the after effect was the best.

He could forget about the world and live in something fun and exciting. And then he started to spiral and nothing could stop him...

...except for John.

Kyroz had found him snoozing on a playground when Smitty was in 8th grade, completely knocked out.

Although Smitty was grateful later for John’s lack of shame, waking up in a stranger’s house was absolutely terrifying.

And thus, their friendship was born.

They worked well together. John kept his dear friend safe and showed him the joys of life while Smitty brought back love and life into Kyroz’s empty house.

A perfect match. They helped each other grow and they were determined to do it together.

“Well shit, let me ask someone for a ride.” John blinks, sending a text out. “You can grab one of my shirts, yours are in the wash.”

Smitty wastes no time in rushing to his closet and grabbing an oversized hoodie. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s still weak, and the fact that he’s anemic doesn’t help.

He gets dressed as fast as he can and goes for a hat, pulling the snapback over his ruffled hair. Kyroz stands in the doorway and smiles. “Tyler can get us. Want me to grab you a hot pocket?”

“Fuck YES,” Smitty grins as he hurries to the living room. He’s got motivation to do something better with his life. He catches sight of a bottle and his face falls before he sweeps it into the recycle, turning away from it.

Kyroz catches his arm before Smitty can say anything. “I’m proud of you. It’s gonna be a long process dude, and we’re all here for you.”

“Thanks, loser.” Smitty leans in affectionately. For a moment, John’s eyes widen, but then he exhales as Smitty leans back again.

The two of them grab their respective bags, make the hot pocket, and head outside to wait for Tyler.

They’re right on time. Tyler’s giant truck pulls around the corner and their dear friend honks loudly, laughing as they both jump into the air.

“Get in fuckers!” Tyler yells. "We're wasting precious daylight. Also, welcome back Smitty. Missed ya."

"Is that emotion I'm detecting?" Smitty teases, hopping into the passenger seat. Kyroz gets into the backseat and watches Tyler with wary eyes. 

Tyler just laughs and floors it, speeding all the way to school. "Shut the fuck up, dumbass. We're gonna see which parts we auditioned for."

"I'm gonna laugh my ass off if you get the Cowardly Lion or some stupid shit," Smitty snickers. "I'm glad I get to just do run crew."

Kyroz shrugs from the back. "You'd be surprised, Smitters. Run crew can get super busy. You're not gonna have the support of the spotlights since we have a job to do, and you'll only have Evan, Jon, and Lanai and some of them might be busy."

"I'll be fine," Smitty waves it off. "This is my chance to prove myself! I'm excited."

"I hope so, kiddo, because we have a lot of work to do." Tyler snorts as he pulls into the parking lot. He reaches down at his feet and tosses Smitty a McDonald's bag. "Eat up butt boi."

The hash browns in the bag are delicious and the three take off to the PAC, running past surprised students and nearly crashing into Lui. The sophomore yells in shock and then gasps excitedly. "Smitty! Good to see you dude! You feeling better?"

"I am now," he confesses, and John puts a protective hand on his shoulder. They all head into the PAC and Marcel hurries to them. "Smitty!! Glad to see you back. I'm just glad that you didn't disappear around our actual rehearsal; I think Chrissy would've killed you."

"That's fair," Smitty admits. "Sorry about leaving so suddenly. I have some...issues I'm still taking care of."

"It's alright dude." Marcel wraps him in a hug. "I'm just glad you're feeling better. Now it's showtime kiddo. Tyler, you got the Cowardly Lion."

Tyler's jaw drops while Lui, John, and Smitty burst out laughing. "I TOLD YOU!!" The freshman howls. "I'm the best there is!"

"Lui, you got the Flying Monkey." Marcel continues. "I hope you understand why."

Lui giggles and nods. "That's the only part I auditioned for. Thanks dude!"

The SM looks at John. "I need you with Brock. Since there's a few songs or whatever, we have cues for the spotlights. The script's already up at the light."

"Roger that," Kyroz says dryly. He glances at Smitty, ruffles his hair, and heads off to find his senior buddy.

Marcel turns to him with a grin. "You and I have prop shop. We'll need a broomstick, a crystal ball, and some other shit."

As they head off, Smitty spots Evan helping Ryan with taking some lights up to the smaller catwalk. There's three in the entire PAC; two in the auditorium and one in the Black Box. One of them wasn't that far off the ground, but the other...

There was a rumor about it being a nightmare. The only people who had ever gone up there were Simone, Jon, Nogla, Kelly, and Tyler. Everyone else was either too terrified or didn't care enough to conquer the 40ft icy cold ladder that led all the way to the top of the auditorium. 

Marcel follows his glance and shudders. "Oh HELL no. You'll never find me going up there."

"It's a right of passage!" Jon yells as he passes by with a plank of wood in his arms. "You can see everything from up there!"

"Fuck that!" Marcel snaps as he leads Smitty to the prop shop. He pulls out some keys and unlocks it, yanking the door open.

Smitty nearly gets heart eyes as he stares in awe once more at the props. "So...a broomstick?"

"Yeah, I want two just in case." Marcel answers. "I know we don't have a crystal ball so I'll send someone to buy one."

The freshman's already buried deep in blankets. His eyes are huge as he stares at Marcel. In the background, the bell rings, and the SM sighs. "Time for first. We're happy to have you back my dude. Just remember that you have all of our numbers and call us if you need us."

Smitty nods while John pops in with their backpacks. "Gotta go dude!" Kyroz calls, helping Smitty out of the pile. "We got places to be!"

They wave and run to first. Throughout the day, Smitty's teachers ask if he's alright, and all he can do is nod. "I'm doing better," he promises, and majority of his teachers smile and tell him that he has an extension on his papers. Thank god his teachers are cool.

At the end of the day, after Smitty's found several broomsticks and helped Melina with fabric, he gets to go home with John. 

Before they both go to bed, John squeezes his hand and whispers, "I'm proud of you."

And even though Smitty has a long way to go, he squeezes back, and falls asleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only condone safe drinking with family and when you’re old enough then you can drink in public. I know teens drink with each other (duh) but please be safe.
> 
> love y’all <3


	11. right of passage (act one scene eleven)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a much shorter chapter! I remember I had to climb this ladder for the first time and I had a heart attack holy shit.
> 
> (and then I had to climb up it with heavy ass lights in my hand oh my GOD NEVER AGAIN)
> 
> announcement!! I've been trying for a chapter a day, but I have so much homework to do and grades to catch up on that this schedule isn't realistic. 
> 
> so I'll probably do a chapter every two/three days. like I've mentioned before, I also have a story getting ready to publish. the first chapter might be done/published by today or tomorrow.

Ryan knows he has to do it, but he can't help his fear as he stares at the ladder of dread.

"You just have to get it over with," Simone reasons in his ear. "It's okay! You just have to keep climbing and pretend you're not going up that horrible thing."

"Thanks, Simone." Ryan manages, gulping as he adjusts the headset over his ears. Thankfully, he's not carrying anything, but his palms are still sweaty as he grasps the ladder. True to everyone's word, it's freezing cold and as he looks up into the darkness, he exhales and tries to calm down. "Wow, this sucks."

"I believe in you!" Simone trills through the headset. "Look, Nogla's here too. Here you go Daithi."

There's a shuffle and Ryan climbs the first few rungs, heart beating as he hears Nogla. "You got this buddy! If you succeed, you'll join the elite club of people who actually managed to climb this ladder."

"Why'd Kelly, Tyler, and Jon climb it? They didn't have a reason to right?" Ryan asks as he keeps on climbing. The temperature somehow drops and he's halfway up, his hands freezing to the rungs. 

"There was a truth or dare game going on several months ago and it was the strip version." Nogla snickers. "Jon hadn't even lost any clothing and he got dared to by Tyler. Obviously he did it and won the whole game and got to talk shit to Tyler for a long ass time."

"And then Brian had the greatest slingshot throw of all time and threw Kelly's jacket up there because she was being rude to him!" Simone calls in the background. "She climbed it, grabbed her jacket, and then punched Brian in the face."

Ryan laughs and refuses to look down. Below him, there's several gasps but he ignores it. "And then Tyler?"

"I think his is on par with Jon's." Nogla responds. "We were playing hide and seek in the PAC and there's so many places to hide, honestly. We'll probably play later on this year. But he decided to do the unthinkable and he scaled the ladder, hid up there, and never came down. No one found him, obviously, and it took us literally hours to find his dumb ass."

Ryan bursts out laughing, takes the final step, and makes it onto the catwalk. There's applause down below and startled, Ryan looks down at the cast and crew. 

He's...he's done it. He's on the catwalk.

“Holy shit,” Ryan breathes out. “I actually did it!”

Party music blasts from the speakers and if Ryan peers over the railing, he can see Nogla cranking up the music and Simone dancing.

“What the FUCK is going on here?” Marcel’s angry voice floats up. Ryan, still grinning, looks over on the other side and marvels at everyone’s tiny size.

“Up here!” Ryan yells, cheering and throwing a fist into the air. Majority of the cast is already cheering; Suni, who landed the role of Dorothy, puts her fingers to her lips and whistles loudly. 

Marcel’s jaw drops as he stares up. “Huh.”

“Congratulations Ryan!!” Jon hollers from the stage, dragging a piece of wood with him. “Now you can join the winner’s club with the rest of us!”

Tyler and Kelly cheer loudly, giving him a thumbs up as Ryan smiles back. “Alright, the fun’s over for now.” Simone laughs in his ear. “We have lights to fix!”

“Roger that!” He salutes to no one in particular. His parents may have worked all the time, and he doesn’t get to see them often other than sleeping or eating, but he knows they’ll be proud of him.

Ryan puts on some gloves laying up there, takes a deep breath, and goes to adjust the lights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea when this story’s gonna end


	12. three shades of gray (act one scene twelve)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here I go again with my bs and starting to write two stories at once rip me

Lanai, for her own worth, is really good at juggling several things at once. She could be helping out Evan and Jon in the workshop or running props with Smitty. She could hand Ryan lights as he climbed the terrifying ladder, much more comfortable as he scaled it.

She was talented, that's for sure. She could even paint a bit, which was coming in handy as she sits Brian down in front of her. "Lanaiiii," he whines as she shushes him. "What if I don't wanna walk around lookin' like a dumbass all day?"

"Then you'll suck it up," Lanai says sweetly. Brian had landed the role of the Tin Man; deciding to help out Melina, who was doing her best to sow costumes together, Lanai had offered to try out the paint for several characters. Suni could do her own but Scotty (who was the Scarecrow) and Tyler (Cowardly Lion) needed some paint on their own faces so that task landed to her. 

There's a few shades of gray on her pallet so she starts with the lighter color, sweeping it over Brian's cheek. The Irishman splutters and tries to smack the paintbrush away. "If you touch it again, I'm telling Brock you love him." She threatens, laughing as he immediately goes silent. "Thank you! Speaking of that, how're the two of you doing?"

Brian's face turns red but half of his cheek vanishes under gray paint. "Uh, we haven't had that date yet. It's coming up probably this week."

"That's awesome!" Lanai congratulates him. "When did you realize you liked him?" She tilts Brian's head to the right and brushes it past his nose, concentrating enough to listen for his answer. 

The junior gulps and tries to ready his nerves. "Um...I'm not sure, really. I think he did something super cheesy like laugh or make a stupid ass pun again? I kinda looked at him and I was like, _holy shit, I really love and care for this guy._ Do NOT tell him I said that, he'll never let me live that down."

"I wasn't there when he asked you out, but Kyroz said you got jealous super fast." Lanai laughs and goes for the dark gray paint. "Didn't you realize that Evan would never have a crush on Brock? They're awesome friends but Evan and Jon are literally made for each other."

"I don't know!" Brian protests. "Evan's a really attractive dude! Pardon me if I got intimidated!"

"You think I'm attractive?"

They both whip around to see Evan wearing a tank and jeans, carrying a can of paint. He raises an eyebrow as both Brian and Lanai stare. 

"If I wasn't more into girls, Fong, and if Jon wasn't after you..." Lanai shakes her head. "Goddamn."

Brian swallows. "If I didn't like Brock, then I would've awkwardly tried to ask you out a while ago. Do you just walk around like this?? What the fuck dude?"

Evan bursts out laughing and heads over to inspect Brian's face paint. "I can grab you a tube of silver or something, since he's the Tin Man. Maybe mix it in or add it as liner. And thanks for the compliment, I do really appreciate that."

He winks as he leaves and the other two juniors swoon. "Jon's a lucky guy," Lanai says with a slight tinge of jealously in her voice. She doesn't truly mean it so she laughs and turns back to her creation. "Hm...I need a certain shade of gray but I don't have it."

"Mix it?" Brian offers. "See what happens?"

"I'll save it till the end. Close your left eye," she says, and Brian obeys her command. "Any good gossip lately?"

"About the play or in general?" He asks, and Lanai shrugs. "Either one."

"The play's coming along really well!" Brian confesses. "Suni's doing a magnificent job as Dorothy. Melina found her a pair of ruby red heels and she's good at walking in them. Scotty is also a very good Scarecrow. Motherfucker is super lanky and he already doesn't have a brain."

Lanai giggles and Brian grins. "My lines are kinda easy, and Tyler's doing a nice job with his as well. He just has to act terrified for a little bit. Trust me, it's hilarious to see a six foot asshole act like a little bitch."

"Who landed the role of Toto?" Lanai asks, curious as she blends gray paint together. When she's satisfied with the shade, she starts applying it to Brian's face. 

At that, Brian bursts out laughing and gently moves Lanai back so he can shut his eyes and cackle. "Oh my GOD it's the BEST ROLE EVER!! Kelly got Glinda, Jaclyn got the Wicked Witch of the West, Craig got Oz, Anthony got a Munchkin, Lui got the Flying Monkey, AND LUKE GOT TOTO!!"

The two of them howl with laughter and nearly knock over the paint, tears coming out of their eyes. Lanai yells "SHIT" as some of the wet paint comes off but she's still too busy laughing to do anything about it. 

"Sorry, sorry." Brian snickers as Lanai goes to fix the paint. "It was too good. He has to wear a fucking suit, Lanai. An actual dog suit. I'm so glad this is the children's show because all of us are gonna lose our fucking minds."

"Lui really couldn't have gotten the role?" Lanai marvels as she adds some white to Brian's face. The entire left shade is shades of gray, with various lines to resemble a robot. There's even splotches of dark gray to look like screws on Brian's forehead and cheek. 

Brian shrugs. "He didn't audition for it. The funny thing is, he knew he was the perfect candidate for Toto but he didn't audition on purpose. And honestly I think he fits the Flying Monkey better."

“That’s true,” she admits. “I guess I can see that. I’ve been running around a lot lately, wanna go check the props out?”

Brian’s face lights up and the two of them hurry off to the workshop. Inside, there’s the sound of a saw as they spot Jon with goggles on and using it, cutting a few pieces of wood. There’s a skeleton of a house on a moving platform; the locks on the side ensure that it won’t move when on stage.

“Dude, the house is coming along nicely!” Lanai compliments them. Jon turns off the saw and looks over, jaw dropping as he spots Brian. “Holy fuck! That looks amazing!”

“Does it?” Brian pulls out his phone and opens the camera, staring at himself. “Holy shit, I do look good! Lanai you’re absolutely incredible.”

“I do my best,” Lanai grins. “I’ll have to reapply it a few times during performances but I think we can make it work!”

Evan walks in with fake dummy legs and black and white tights. Behind him, Suni jogs in with her ruby red heels in her hand. “I brought the shoes!”

“Awesome! Set them down over by the house.” Jon replies as he rolls up his hoodie sleeves and tosses a few pieces of wood back into the pile.

The house was supposed to spin due to the ‘tornado’. Nogla had the sound effect cued already, and Suni was supposed to spin with Luke by her side. 

They were all really excited. 

Lanai’s phone buzzes. She ignores the paint on her hands and checks it, smiling as she spots who it is.

Mama: Hello love! We made a bit too much ravioli at the house. Would you like to invite any of your friends? 

Lanai: hi mama! I’d love to!! you’re the best omg <3 

Mama: <3 

Lanai looks up and grins. “Would anyone like some fine Italian cuisine at Casa de la Lanai?”

“Is that even how you say it?” Suni asks, amused.

"Which one invited us?" Brian looks up. "Your Mama or Mom?"

"Mama," Lanai responds. "She made ravioli."

Evan looks over and grins. "Dude I'd LOVE to go have dinner with you guys. Lemme text my parents real fast."

He hurries off and Marcel pokes his head in. "Rehearsal's nearly done. I hear you guys are going to dinner?"

"Lanai's Mama is cooking pasta!" Jon throws his hands into the air. "I love her food so much, guys. Let's go!"

Lanai takes Evan, Jon, Brian, and Suni to her house and gets to introduce Suni to both of her moms. Her Mama is kind with brown and blonde hair, warm brown eyes twinkling as she greets them. Lanai's Mom is a fair and practical woman with natural ginger hair that flows down to her back. She's grading papers, but when her daughter walks in she smiles and goes to hug her. "Hello darling, and hello everyone! Who's this?"

As Brian introduces Suni, Lanai's Mama sets some food down on the table and they all dig in. Lanai does her best to not laugh at Brian's face; she'd hurriedly wiped off as much as she could, but there were very obvious gray and white smudges on his face.

Luckily for her, the Irishman didn't care very much. 

Brian leans forward after swallowing a huge bite of ravioli, watching as Suni leaves the dining room to answer a phone call. "So Lanai," he grins mischievously. Her eyes widen in fear; she already knows what's going to happen. She's done. She's screwed. Her moms will never let her live this down. "How's your huge crush on Suni going?"

"BRIAN!" Lanai screeches as everyone gasps. Evan nearly chokes; Jon actually does and coughs, trying to laugh and swallow his food at the same time. "THAT WAS PRIVATE!"

"After you nearly sold me out to Brock!" Brian retorts. "That's payback!"

Even as her moms and her friends fuss over her, Lanai knows she's lucky, so she takes her blessings and just grins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a homestuck reference somewhere in here with gray paint
> 
> I'll have the next chapter of quadrants out soon


	13. exhaustion (act one scene thirteen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school is killing me and my dad and his best friend's wife we live with won't stop bothering me constantly so I'm sorry about the wait y'all :(
> 
> I have another week and a half till christmas break I CAN DO THIS

Chrissy honestly has no idea how long it'll take herself to give out.

For now, she has her friends, and it's fine.

...Maybe.

The moment she gets home at 11 PM from working at the nearest restaurant at school, which happens to be a Bill Miller's, she gets bombarded in her living room. "Where were you? You were supposed to be home four minutes ago!" Her mom snaps, angry with her hands on her hips.

“Traffic was the worst,” Chrissy explains wearily. “There was a jam at the light.”

Her mom just rolls her eyes and glares again. “What about your homework? Don’t think I didn’t enroll you in AP classes for nothing! You need straight A’s or you’re not good enough for college.”

Chrissy thinks back to her theater family, who all chipped in to help. Brock helped her out with English answers and Anthony gave her a quick tutor lesson in math. 

She really loves her friends. 

“Most of it’s already done,” Chrissy tries to stifle her yawn. “I need to shower, I stink.”

“You need to clean the dishes first.” Her mom points to the pile of dishes in the sink. “And then you need to clean your room.”

“I already cleaned that yesterday,” Chrissy protests. “What happened?”

Her mom turns her head away and walks off, waving her hand at her. “I had to find something that belonged to me. You still need to clean it.”

When she leaves, Chrissy breathes in and out and slumps to the ground. She can’t bring herself to cry, only curling around herself.

Someone pats her on the shoulder. “Psst!” A quiet voice makes her look up.

“Hey, Squirt.” Chrissy whispers as her little sister sits next to her. “What’s up?”

Sarah, Chrissy’s little sister, regards her with eyes too wise for an eleven year old. “I already cleaned your room.”

The ASM jerks up. “What?”

Sarah gives a half-hearted shrug. “Mom was looking for some necklace that wasn’t even in your room. She just trashed it and left, so I went in and cleaned it. I might’ve put stuff in the wrong spot though, sorry.”

Chrissy continues to stare at her sister. “...Why?”

“I don’t wanna see you sad,” Sarah admits. “I remember when you’d smile all the time and you had that girl over. What was her name again? Ke—“

“Please don’t,” Chrissy closes her eyes. “Please just don’t.”

Undeterred, Sarah gets up and starts washing dishes. “I also texted your friends from your laptop.”

“You what?!” Chrissy whips out her phone and stares in shock. To her horror, her sister has indeed messaged them and they make her hand clench around her phone.

Chrissy: hi!!! 

Marcel: ...chrissy? 

Chrissy: no this is her sister sarah 

Chrissy: can u help her? she’s always sad and tired and I wanna help her bc momma doesn’t let her sleep for a long time and she does so much hw and I think it’s super gross 

Chrissy: can u let her sleep at ur house or anyone else’s? 

Marcel: you’re a smart kid. I’ll have my girlfriend go get her because she’s closer. thanks kiddo, I really appreciate this. 

Chrissy: u have a GIRLFRIEND? 

Marcel: yep. she’ll be there soon. 

Chrissy stares as she realizes that message was sent ten minutes ago. "What am I gonna do?"

"Pack your bags silly!" Sarah giggles. "Go get some sleep and food. I'll wash the dishes, I've seen you do it enough."

Too speechless for words, Chrissy hugs her sister and hurries upstairs. She tiptoes past her parents' room, heads into her surprisingly clean room, and packs a bag as fast as she can. Her hands are shaking due to loss of sleep and lack of food. Sarah walks in and gives her older sister a hug. "You owe me," she laughs. "Show me around theater tomorrow! I wanna meet your friends!!"

"Will do, kiddo." Chrissy wraps her in a hug. Thankfully, her ex taught her how to sneak out windows, so she quietly slides open her own and heads out. Simone's car is running on the street so Chrissy slides down her roof, jumps for the nearest tree, and scales down. 

Simone looks impressed as she waves at Sarah, who closes Chrissy's window. "I've never seen you do that before. Nice job!"

"Thanks," the ASM wheezes. "Can...can we get some food?"

"Of course love. It's on me, don't worry." Simone drives off and makes sure her dear friend is doing alright.

“You look exhausted,” The junior admits. “We’ve all noticed. Do you even sleep? Eat? Anything?”

“I barely sleep.” Chrissy sighs. “And snack throughout the day. I try to sleep as much as I can but I have so much homework to do...”

“Then let us help,” Simone urges. “You’re our dear friend and we love you. Especially with you know who.”

“You don’t have to sugarcoat it.” Chrissy puts her head into her hands. “I didn’t even want to break up with Kelly. That was my mom and dad’s fault."

“Then tell her!” Simone cries out, looking sorrowful. She turns into Chick-fil-a and heads to the drive-through. “I’ve never seen her so shaken up and heartbroken. She loved you, Chrissy.”

“I know. I loved her too.” The senior chokes on a sob, exhales, and regains her composure. “I’ll work up the courage to tell her again one day.”

“Maybe soon? I think Tyler and her might end up together.” Simone rolls down her window and orders nuggets. In the passenger seat, Chrissy looks terrified.

_If Evan’s right, and he usually is, Tyler has a crush on Craig but Mini has a crush on Suni. I think Lanai has a crush on Suni too? Oh gosh, how do we resolve this?_

She gets shaken out of her thoughts as Simone hands her a drink. “One sweet tea, so you can sleep easier tonight.”

“Thank you,” Chrissy manages as she drinks. 

They get their food and head off. Simone’s pulling into her driveway when she smiles at the ASM. “We’re having wonderful progress with the play! Suni’s learned all of her lines along with our main cast. We’re thinking about a projection for Glinda’s bubble and as the audience’s attention is on that, we'll wheel the actual one out and have Kelly walk out.”

Chrissy nods, allowing her to continue. “Melina’s nearly done with the costumes. We need to stuff Tyler into his costume. Other than that, Lanai just has to work her makeup magic and we should be set!”

“Speaking of those, how’re the house and the rest of the sets doing?” 

“Magnificent!” Simone beams, unlocking her front door and heading in. “My parents are already asleep but they know you’re here. Let’s eat!”

Chrissy’s stomach is growling as she sits down at the table and digs in. She really doesn’t get the chance to eat a large amount of food at a time; during lunch, she’s usually working on her assignments, and outside of school she’s working and trying to sleep.

“All we have to do is paint the house and Oz’s castle. Craig is SO excited to be Oz, he’s a wonderful actor and I think he’s a perfect fit due to his personality!” Simone smiles. “Sound cues are done, lights are adjusted, and we got Luke to buy a crystal ball.”

“Jaclyn’s the Witch of the West right?” Chrissy asks. “How’re we having her melt? With real water?”

“We’re having confetti for rehearsals, but for the actual performance we’re gonna throw a bit of water.” Simone nods. Her phone buzzes and she smiles at the message before looking back up. “Melina said she can toss it into the dryer and it’ll be fine. Even so, we have replacements in case something goes wrong.”

"Thank you for looking out for me." The senior manages a smile. "I haven't been a great ASM so far, and I really appreciate this."

Simone throws their trash away and rushes over to give her a hug. "Of course! You mean a lot to all of us. This is the least I could do for you."

She leads her dear friend to her guest bedroom. Chrissy's absolutely exhausted; she's falling asleep on her feet, already dozing off. Simone helps her change (they're close friends; they've seen each other naked before due to bad timing with bathing suits and wardrobe malfunctions) and plugs her phone in. 

Chrissy is already asleep before Simone can even say "goodnight", and thankfully, it's the best sleep she's had in a few months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I have a game plan for some ships
> 
> (changed Lanai’s crush to Suni so it’ll work)
> 
> next chapter of quadrants should be uhhhhhh out in a few days I'm pretty sure
> 
> also today’s the 11th and I graduate in exactly six months!!


	14. sound board extravaganza (act one scene fourteen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta go to school monday, tuesday, and wednesday and then I'll be off for winter break
> 
> rip my sleep schedule
> 
> I also got my class ring!! it's black and pink and it's a BEAUTY

The fun part about cues is the fact that they're in order and easy to relay through the headset. 

The not so fun part is remembering which cue is which.

Daithi de Nogla, half asleep on his beloved sound board, mournfully thinks of his job. He genuinely loves his job, he really does!! But sometimes there's just so many buttons and so many noises that he legit takes naps in the sound booth.

Why is it even called the sound booth? The light controls are in there as well. Couldn't it be S&L? Guess not.

It's 8 in the morning. School doesn't start for another 45 minutes, and there he is, snoozing in the booth. Whatever. 

The door opens and Anthony walks in, holding a steaming drink. "Drink up, butt boi." He laughs, heading over to hand him the drink. "Have you seen Chrissy? Marcel said Simone picked her up, and I'm kinda surprised she's not here yet."

"She's here," a quiet voice makes them jump. It's Simone, holding a sleeping Chrissy in her arms. Nogla gets up and hurries over, gently taking his friend. "What happened?"

"She finally gave out," Simone yawns. "I couldn't wake her up this morning. She's obviously alive, duh, but she'll be out for a while. Daithi, if you don't mind, could you use your off period to watch over her?"

“Sure,” Nogla smiles as he sets Chrissy down on the floor. In case of emergencies, there’s pillows and blankets in the booth so he rolls out a blanket, gives her a pillow, and covers her with another blanket. 

Their dear ASM snoozes soundly on the floor, away from her problems for the time being. Simone holds out her phone. “Her parents have been texting and calling nonstop.”

"I'll deal with that," Anthony narrows his eyes. "Hand it over."

Simone hands him the phone and the other senior answers. "You're Chrissy's parents, correct?"

There's a pause and then Anthony puts it on speaker. _"I'm her mother. Where the hell is my daughter?"_

"She's resting. Do you realize what you're doing to her?" Anthony demands. "You're killing our dear friend. Chrissy's EXHAUSTED. She's been on the verge of passing out because YOU don't let her REST. Don't you GET THAT?"

 _"My daughter has expectations that she is expected to reach."_ Chrissy's mom snaps. _"Don't think I don't know about her ditching this family to go party somewhere else! When she gets home, she will be GROUNDED."_

"SHE'S EIGHTEEN YOU IDIOT!" Anthony explodes. "And she didn't go PARTY! She went to someone else's house just to go sleep!!! She's STILL asleep and it's been nine hours! You're killing your daughter, ma'am, and I hope you know that."

_"I will file charges—"_

"By the law, Chrissy's an adult! And that means she has her own legal rights. Now, she has been deprived of sleep, food, and good company, so we're going to give her that." Anthony says firmly. "Good day to you, ma'am." 

He legit hangs up and Nogla chuckles, doing his ridiculous laugh. "Good man."

The sound of footsteps echo and then Kelly appears at the door, eyes wide. They all try not to smile at Kelly's relief upon seeing her ex. "Is she okay?"

"Chrissy? Yeah, she's fine." Simone exhales, obviously relieved that her friend is alright. "Hell week is upon us, ladies and gentlemen. Melina's pretty much done, the cast has learned their lines, and the sets are complete."

"Even my bubble?" Kelly blinks in surprise. "How'd you manage that?"

"I had Ryan put a projector on the catwalk. There's gonna be a spotlight on the projection, and we'll shroud the floor with smoke. When it clears, the projection fades, and your actual bubble will be there." Simone recites. "Nogla has the cues set."

The Irishman nods. "We'll be fine. All we need is a few rehearsals and then the show is next Wednesday and Thursday. I'm so glad that today's Friday."

Everyone else groans and Anthony straight up leaves. "Bye, I'm gonna pretend you never said that and go hang out with my girlfriend."

Daithi chuckles as everyone leaves except for Simone. She turns to look at him, smiling. "Ready for rehearsal later on today? We're just going to check our cues, mark the sets, and make sure everyone has their shit together."

Nogla laughs loudly. "I see Marcel is rubbing off on you. I can't tell if that's a good or bad thing."

"Hush, you!" Simone affectionately smacks his arm. They both glance back to spot Chrissy yawning, finally waking up. "Shall I make some tea?"

"Yes!" Nogla throws his fist into the air. "You stay right there, Chrissy. We'll be back with food and drinks."

Still dazed, the ASM can only nod as her friends take care of her. 

Daithi knows how to take care of himself and others. His parents are always in Ireland and never visit, so that led to him learning how to cook, clean, and do everything else by himself. His freshman year, he met his new family, and he wouldn't trade them for anything.

Brock was so shy he didn't talk for weeks, Jon and Luke constantly stuck together, Anthony and Marcel were another duo, and Chrissy was starting to be bombarded by her parents. 

And then Daithi stepped in, cracked jokes, invited them over to his house, and it was all over from there. The seniors were close-knit just like the juniors. They were graduating at the end of the year and that was when they'd have the biggest party of all time. 

(That was the plan, at least.)

Nogla's grateful for his off period. His was first period, while Marcel and Anthony had theirs eighth. Luke, who was really goddamn smart, had both seventh and eighth off. It allows him to go and grab some food for Chrissy while Simone makes her famous tea.

In some weird sense, Daithi's the glue in their bunch of misfits. Nothing could rally everyone together like making fun of him or having a good time. And that's honestly the way he likes it. 

When he returns with some tacos and Simone hands Chrissy her tea, he sits at his sound board and plays some soft classical music over the speakers. He sets his alarm for another forty-five minutes; as long as Nogla gets to sleep, he's fine with that. 

Simone waves and leaves, Chrissy goes back to bed, and Daithi snoozes off, letting the sounds of violins and pianos fill his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a rlly short chapter because the next one is hell week and
> 
> oh boy
> 
> hell week


	15. hell week (act one scene fifteen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year's my dears!!! thank you guys so much for the best year in writing I've ever had. I've been writing for about 4-5 years now and this has been the best one so far.
> 
> trust me, I have plenty of story ideas for my darling bbs crew. I ain't going anywhere ;)
> 
> here's to a wonderful 2018 and thank you everyone for being on this journey with me. the love I've received from this fandom for my writing always inspires me no matter what, and it always encourages me to keep on writing for you lovely people. 
> 
> I love you guys!!! <3

When Marcel announces it's hell week that weekend, the jolt of pure fear that Kyroz feels is absolutely called for.

Hell week struck fear into everyone's heart. Even the experienced seniors wept tears, huddling together in a group.

It signifies that no one is going to get any sleep for the next week, food would have to be smuggled in, and people would have to find places to sleep in the auditorium. 

Saturday morning, John is already tired and groggy as Luke thankfully pulls around the corner and parks. He takes Smitty's hand and the two of them get into his truck, yawning as they spot Jon snoozing in the passenger seat.

"Is Evan already there?" John asks, thinking of their beloved junior friend as the school appears in front of them.

"Yeah, he had to grab Tyler so he left early and went to grab breakfast. We're having bets on who's going to be last." Luke answers. "Current bets are on Nogla, Anthony, Brian, or Kelly. You want in?"

"Sure, I'll go with Brian." Kyroz grins as they park and get down. Chrissy's already waiting for them in the front. She looks much better and well-rested, color returned to her face. Her smile is genuine as she grins.

"Good morning!" She greets them. "I know this is probably going to suck, but we all have to sacrifice something for theater. I hope you've eaten breakfast."

Behind Luke, Jon grins and waves his phone at her. "Evan's bringing us food."

"Awesome. Luke, go meet up with Melina and get into costume." Chrissy instructs. "Del, you're gonna have to help Kelly with some stuff regarding her props."

"Aight." They both salute and head off, leaving Smitty and John. The sophomore hopes that his dear friend can withstand this hell week; during the weekends, it was easier, but during school, they wouldn't get out till nine-thirty at night. Those were the worst times; sleepovers were so common because some of the crew barely made it back to their own houses, plus it was just easier to get to school the next morning.

"Smitty, you're gonna be the runner boy for the sound booth." Chrissy pats him on the back. "If we need a hand backstage, I'll put you there and have Ryan do it. I just want you to be able to get a feel for this."

"That's cool!" Smitty agrees. "So I just run back and forth delivering messages?"

"Yep. We're only allowed to use the headsets for cues. Actual messages have to be personally delivered. So for now, I'll have you report to the sound booth." Chrissy smiles. The freshman squeezes John's hand and hurries off, leaving their ASM with Kyroz.

"I'm pretty sure you already have everything down." Chrissy snickers. "Did Brock make you write down your cues?"

"At the time I was way too lazy but he still made me, and now I'm grateful for it." John laughs and thinks of the paper taped to his spotlight. "Speaking of him, we're having a betting pool—"

"I'm well aware of it, and my bet's on Brian." Chrissy laughs. "Nogla and Kelly have already been here for the past hour, and Melina dragged Anthony with her to the store so she could get extra fabric and stuff. Brian's the last one."

"I might actually win a bet for once, holy shit." John grins. The two of them head to the auditorium. Inside, Suni's rushing around stage with Lanai next to her. Scotty's half asleep on the giant wooden house the build crew made, and Luke looks disgruntled in his dog suit. Everyone's trying not to laugh as they spot him. 

In the sound booth, Daithi, Simone, Ryan, and Smitty are chilling out with Marcel. Even McQuaid's there; he looks a bit tired, but more awake than his students as he sips some coffee.

"I'm surprised we haven't had any drama lately, pardon the pun." John comments. "No relationship scandals or anything."

At the mention of relationships, Chrissy casts a quick glance at Kelly in her giant pink and glittery dress. She's standing next to Jaclyn, whose face is painted an interesting shade of green. "We're having a small issue with those, but they're getting resolved pretty quickly. We're all getting the balls to ask each other out. There's Nogla and Jaclyn, Anthony and Melina, Craig and Suni, Brian and Brock, and maybe Evan and Jon soon..."

She trails off and John thinks of Smitty. He's considering asking him out, but he wants to wait till the time is right. He doesn't know when that'll be.

"You gonna ask Kelly back out?" John asks, effectively avoiding his own thoughts. "Honestly, everyone's waiting on it."

Chrissy shoots him a glare, and although he almost backs down due to the fact that she's in control of whatever his job could be, he trudges on like a true warrior. "C'mon Chrissy, we all know that she's still in love with you. Do something after the last show!"

"...I don't know," their ASM mutters. “We’ll see. I have to figure out sleeping arrangements because I’m not staying with my mom anymore. Luckily for me, Sarah stays out of trouble easily so she’s okay. I promised her that I’d bring her to one of our rehearsals or performances.”

“That’s great!” John congratulates her. He knows he has to go, but he wants to make sure she’s doing well before he’ll be stuck on headset for a while. “Who’re you staying with?”

“Simone, for now. I’m helping her with homework in exchange for letting me stay,” Chrissy grins. “Oh fuck, what time is it? Dry rehearsal starts in a few minutes! Showtime John, we got shit to do.”

She hurries off and John runs to his spotlight, waving as Brock walks in and makes his way to the other one. The sophomore calls out to him, “Where’s Brian?”

He watches as Brock’s lips curl into a smile. “Getting yelled at by Lanai backstage for being late. He was exhausted last night.”

John acknowledges the answer with a laugh and then puts the headset on, humming as he connects to the channel. Marcel’s voice floats through his ears and becomes clearer, no longer crackling. _“Everyone report in. Run crew?”_

 _“All present and accounted for,”_ Evan responds from somewhere backstage. _“Lanai’s doing Brian’s makeup, you have Smitty with you, and Jon’s making sure we have all the props. Melina’s on standby in case something happens.”_

 _“Roger that,”_ Marcel replies. _“Nogla and Simone are present, along with Ryan and Smitty. Spotlights?”_

“Present!” John grins as he spots Brock trying not to laugh. _“We’re here Marcel.”_

 _“Everything’s accounted for, so let’s get this show on the road!”_ John can practically hear Marcel’s smile, and his enthusiasm makes his own spark up.

It may have only been his second year, but he LOVED theater. Kyroz didn’t mind being the spotlights; he was able to watch the whole show and spot his squad doing their thing onstage and off.

The lights dim, Marcel mutters _“Cue one,”_ and the play begins.

* * *

It’s intermission when John moves from his spot and cracks his lower back, groaning and making sure he hasn’t clicked the button so everyone over headset would hear it. He hears Marcel call for a fifteen minute break and he removes the headset, setting it down before making his way to the lobby that's being stocked with food.

Anthony's already grabbing snacks, stuffing his Munchkin costume with food. He turns to spot John and freezes in his tracks. “It’s not what it looks like. Y’know what? It definitely is. I’m hoarding snacks.”

John snorts and joins him, piling food into his hoodie. “It gets a little boring being up there for a long time. So a few more of these and then showtime, and then after that we chill for a bit and then get started on the musical.”

“Yep,” Anthony pops the p. “We’ve got a decent amount of musical talent in this theater crew. Jaclyn, Brian, and I hate to give Craig credit but he’s kinda good at it.”

They both laugh together and then watch as the sound booth crew comes walking from upstairs, chatting amongst themselves. The theater kids, still dressed in full attire, make their way to the two boys.

The run crew follows close behind. “Dude, let's go out to eat after this!” Jon cheers, nudging Evan. He chuckles and nudges him right back. “Everyone might be tired, Delly.”

“But I won’t be!” Del whines. “Pleaaaaase?”

Kyroz doesn’t get to hear the rest of the conversation because Smitty bounces up to him. His dear crush is practically glowing, grinning as he lightly shoves John. "That was so much fun! Is it like that every time?"

"It depends," John laughs. "I'm glad you had a good time. Wanna grab food with Evan and Jon after this?"

On the horizon, Kyroz knows that this week is going to be exhausting but spectacular. They'd have to stay for another two hours, then when school rolled around, they'd probably stay at Luke's or someone else's home since he was the closest.

Over by the stairs leading to the sound booth, he spots Lanai doing her best to flirt with Suni. The two had bonded over video games and hilarious jokes, and it was nice to see them get along so well.

John looks over and locks eyes with Kelly. She's been watching him for the past minute; as she raises an eyebrow, he tilts his head towards Tyler and Craig, who're cracking jokes at Craig's Oz costume. She gently shakes her head and smiles brightly, nodding in the direction of Chrissy. 

It's rare to actually be able to read her expression, but today it's loud and clear. _"Of course I still love her. I had a small crush on Tyler for a bit, but I've never loved anyone more."_

Satisfied for the time being, Kyroz turns back to Smitty, who's thoughtfully thinking about his offer. "Hm...you owe me a few Grand Prix against me in Mario Kart, but I'll take you guys up on that."

"Awesome. Evan! Del!" John hollers from across the room. "We'll go eat with you guys!"

Jon’s face lights up and they all laugh. There’s a whistle from McQuaid and everyone turns, giving him their full attention.

“I do have a few notes, but they’re very minor so far and I have to give everyone so many kudos! Well done.” McQuaid says happily. “One more act, and then we’ll see where we go from there!”

A warmth encompasses John’s hand. He looks down in surprise to see Smitty slip his hand into his own. It seems to be purely by instinct as Smitty’s talking with Tyler, talking shit as usual.

John squeezes silently, and Smitty looks at him with a giant grin. 

An empty house could never compare to the feeling of _home_ he has in this moment. 

Four days to go till showtime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: my very first hell week, the seniors/juniors ditched us (I was a sophomore at the time) for food and I had to smuggle in chick-fil-a and I was a spotlight for the play so I crept over to the other spotlight where my friend was and shared the food with him
> 
> we didn't get out till 10 pm rip
> 
> totally worth it


	16. calm before the storm (act one scene sixteen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8 months till I'm 18 nice (on the 9th at least!)

The night before their first show, Jaclyn finds herself at Nogla’s house with Suni, Tyler, Lui, and Kelly. 

Daithi lives pretty close to school and his car’s literally an SUV; he hasn’t seen his parents in a few months so he offers to open his house for the show. 

Jaclyn’s his girlfriend, Lui’s his best friend, Suni refuses to bother Craig and his parents, Kelly just went to the first house she could find, and Tyler would rather stay at the Irishman’s house than third-wheel Evan and Jon.

It was easier this way and Jaclyn was happy to share her boyfriend's house with everyone. Tuesday night, they all gather in the living room, and Lui sets a piece of paper on the floor. "Dinner options?"

“Burgers,” Kelly says immediately from where she’s sitting with Suni. All the juniors are piled together and doing homework. Nogla and Lui, a senior and sophomore respectively, are planning what they have to do tomorrow.

Jaclyn laughs and nods. “Make mine a cheeseburger!”

“You and your cheese,” Daithi affectionately replies. She leans over and gives him a quick kiss.

Tyler sighs and drops his pencil, slumping against the floor. “Hold on a second. We’re not even going to class tomorrow; why’re we doing homework now?”

“Because we still have to go to 8th period if we don’t have an off period and when this is done, we’re gonna be so tired that none of us want to do homework.” Kelly snorts. “Also, it’s just easier this way.”

Tyler rolls his eyes and goes back to mumbling about stupid math problems.

"Look on the bright side, Tyler!" Suni chirps as Kelly snatches her paper and scans it. "This weekend we get to chill out and have fun!"

Lui cheers with her statement and Jaclyn just leans against Daithi, humming thoughtfully as she sets her homework down. "Are we going to get breakfast tomorrow?" She asks her boyfriend, smiling as he runs a hand through her hair. He's not one for PDA, choosing to show his love in private. It means a lot to her that he's opening up in front of his friends.

"Of course," Nogla scoffs. "If you're still tired, you can actually take a nap in the auditorium because we set everything up tonight. Everything's done."

"We better grab donuts or something in case someone doesn't get any food." Kelly yawns. "I have some money."

"I do too!" Lui grins. "We can pitch in for snacks. That box at Dunkin Donuts isn't that expensive, I could probably buy three of them."

"Then it's settled!" Nogla declares. "We'll get some of the shit in the morning. It's getting super fuckin late, anyone up for dinner?"

They all pile into Daithi's SUV; Lui calls shotgun and beats Tyler to it, laughing as he gets in. Jaclyn, Kelly, and Suni get into the backseat while Tyler gets shoved to the seats behind them. "This is bullshit!" Tyler hollers, shaking his fist into the air. "Mutiny!!"

"Shut the fuck up," Kelly laughs. "There's plenty of restaurants around here, we're gonna get down soon."

Chick-fil-a isn't closed yet so they pull into the drive-through, grab some food, and head back. The girls pull out their fries and munch away. Lui, being the greatest best friend in the world, feeds Nogla as he drives them back to his house.

They have some of the loudest people in the group together (Tyler, Nogla, Kelly) but it's silent as they eat in the living room. Jaclyn pushes her homework away, partially done as she chows down on a sandwich. 

"Can someone tell me the schedule for tomorrow?" Suni asks, leaning back on Nogla's couch. The girls were going to share the guest room as they were more comfortable sharing a bed together. Lui claimed Nogla's bedroom and on the floor while Tyler got the couch.

Kelly swallows some chicken and looks over at her. "We get up, get dressed, grab breakfast, and head over to the school super early. I can already assure you that majority of the tech is going to sleep for the first hour and a half. We'll make sure Melina has our costumes ready, set up, and then the performance is gonna start. When it's over, we head out onto stage and answer questions that any of the kids have. We get to chill out when they leave and then it repeats twice."

Suni nods slowly. "So we have to go back to 7th and 8th?"

"Most people skip, but yeah." Kelly laughs. "Hell, even Evan, Simone, and Melina skip. That's how tired we get. It's up to you, but I guarantee that we'll be getting food or something."

Jaclyn mumbles an agreement. "I'm definitely skipping. I can thankfully afford to so I'll join you guys. It should be on school business though?"

"Nah, because theater officially releases us for 6th lunch." Tyler sighs from his spot. "We have a performance at five, so we get to chill for about three hours. I think I'm gonna sleep now. I'm too tired to finish this goddamn paper. I'll just copy it off Evan or Brian, since I know Brock made him do his."

Lui snickers and voices his thoughts. "I'll grab it off Scotty or Melina if they even did it. I'm pretty confident that John didn't, he's gonna turn his in super late."

Nogla shrugs. "Marcel or Brock probably have theirs."

It's silent before everyone bursts out laughing, filling Nogla's empty house with joy. Jaclyn treasures these moments; she completely understands her boyfriend and his always gone family. Her parents were barely around as well, stopping by every month for a day or two. She simply didn't care what they were doing; they didn't ask about her life, she didn't ask about theirs.

But now Daithi cares and he genuinely loves her and he's the one for Jaclyn. If they had an issue, they'd resolve it, and go back to watching movies and cuddle. He's very precious to her and she sees how he holds their family together. 

Jaclyn's proud to be with the group. It's days like these she enjoys, having fun and getting ready for a role she was excited to have.

The gang eventually decides to sleep. Suni helps Tyler pull out the couch bed while Kelly grabs their overnight clothes, heading to go shower. Lui says goodnight and drags his sleeping bag to Nogla's room. 

Jaclyn looks up at her boyfriend. He smiles at her, a real genuine one, and leans down to kiss her. "I love you," he murmurs, cupping her chin. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

She can't help the blush that travels over her cheeks as she wraps her arms around him. "I love you more," she replies, smiling back. "Tomorrow's going to be incredible."

"It is!" Nogla promises. "You look gorgeous in green."

"Oh my fucking god," Tyler interrupts and makes Jaclyn laugh. "You guys are gross. Get the fuck away from me."

"Don't you have a crush on Mini?" Daithi questions, and Tyler just leans back on his bed and groans. "Maybe."

Nogla turns back to his girlfriend and she giggles. "Goodnight Daithi. Sweet dreams."

He responds by kissing her cheek and murmuring a quiet goodnight, retreating back to his room, and Jaclyn makes her way to the guest bedroom. Kelly's sitting on the bed while on her phone. "Ready for tomorrow, my evil twin?" Kelly teases her. 

Jaclyn huffs out a laugh, thinking of the paint Lanai would have to use on her. Her black dress was slim and form fitting while Kelly's was giant, poofy, and bright pink. They contrasted well with black and pink. "And now we have Suni with us, who we can kidnap together!"

Suni walks out of the bathroom drying her hair and pauses when she hears her name. "Wait, what?"

"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!" Jaclyn threatens as she pretends to wave a broomstick around. "Mwahaha!"

"Don't you mean big dog?" Kelly snorts, and they all burst into laughter at the thought of Luke having to follow Suni everywhere. 

"Well I'm going to bed," Suni declares. "If tomorrow is going to be spectacular, then I have to look my best!"

"Are you going to let Lanai do your makeup?" Jaclyn asks. All the girls could tell that Lanai's old crush on Brian was gone; in its place was a fondness for the new girl, and perhaps a crush as well. 

Kelly and Jaclyn both observe Suni's cheeks going a shade darker. "Uh...maybe?"

"I'll make this blunt; are you starting to get feelings for her?" Kelly asks, raising an eyebrow. Ah, Kelly. One to not take shit from anyone. 

Suni freezes and she looks down. There's no going against Kelly, or even Chrissy for that matter, and the other junior's gray eyes cause her to crack. "I...think so. I've never had a crush on a girl before?? And what about Craig?!"

"What about him? Do you still like him?" Jaclyn asks. "I know it's a bit difficult to figure this stuff out. But just think about it, okay? Some people are better off being friends."

Suni relaxes and nods with a smile. "Okay. I'll do that."

The three pile into bed together. It's not at all strange, as they've been used to each other for a while now, and Jaclyn turns off the lamp and drifts into a deep sleep, dreaming of what tomorrow would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short and sweet chapter to build up for the performance! Im excited to write it lol
> 
> I have finals next tuesday--friday and so far, there's one with 70 questions, 100, another 100, an essay, 45, and that's all I know so far rip
> 
> UHHH GUYS PAX SOUTH IS LITERALLY IN MY CITY. IT'S DOWNTOWN. IF I GO SATURDAY, I COULD SEE LANAI AND MAYBE BRIAN HOLY SHIT WISH ME LUCK


	17. showtime (act one scene seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! I had finals. they were p okay. 
> 
> I think I have a story coming out this week??? we'll see, I'm not sure yet.

When Anthony gets woken up, Melina tells him that he’s been snoring the whole time and although it’s incredibly endearing, she had to muffle him with a pillow.

“I could’ve died?” Anthony asks, eyes wide as he gets up. His girlfriend rolls her eyes while she moves around to grab her bag. “Shush, you would’ve been fine.”

Thankfully, he remembered to plug his phone in as he reaches over and grabs it. Anthony puts on shorts and a simple t-shirt that’ll be easy to wear throughout the day. His Munchkin outfit has to go over it so he packs another pair of socks and yawns, already ready.

Melina’s smart. She already has majority of her stuff ready, and even though she doesn’t have to dress up because she’ll be backstage the whole time, she still takes the time to make sure her hair is fine and do her makeup.

Anthony opens up his messages and sends his dear SM a message. 

Anthony: wake up bitch boy we got SHIT to do today!! 

Marcel: I literally hate you so much 

Marcel: I will actually whisper the dreaded shakespearian play in the goddamn theater. don’t make me do it you fucking bitch. 

Anthony gasps out loud and sends him several middle finger emojis before hustling out the door and to his car, where Melina’s already waiting. 

“So we’ll grab breakfast and then head to the school.” Melina mutters under her breath as Anthony backs out of the driveway. “Mom already knows I’m with you, and I’ll snip the last few threads from the costumes and then maybe take a nap or get coffee.”

Anthony smiles warmly at her as he heads down the street. It’s 7:15; far too early to be up, but enough time for their beloved seamstress to make sure everything was right before Marcel and the crew got there.

They stop by McDonald’s, grab some pancakes and hash browns, and keep on going to the school. Anthony parks and helps his girlfriend with her bag and everything else. He’s left his backpack at home; no point, y’know? 

McQuaid already knew his students were going to get there early, so he set his spare key out for them to find. Anthony opens the PAC doors and hustles to the theater room. The band, orchestra, and dance kids were already in the PAC. Choir had a lucky break and weren’t required to show up so early. 

Melina waves to a few of them as Anthony fishes the key from a nearby potted plant and opens the theater door. After snatching the other key for the auditorium, he rushes to those doors and opens them as well. 

“Do you need me to help with anything?” Anthony asks as Melina pulls the costumes out of storage. She gives him a grateful smile; he technically has to do jack shit as his role is minor and could be napping, but he’s being a good boyfriend by asking and willing to do it. 

“Yes please. Could you hold up pieces of Kelly’s dress so I can snip the threads? Some of them started to stick out so I need to fix them.” Melina sits down and grabs a pair of scissors. Anthony sits across from her and lifts up the fabric, eyes a bit wide at how heavy it was. 

“Kelly has to walk and twirl around in this?” He asks, incredulous as Melina grins. 

“Yep. She has the most difficult costume, Brian and Tyler right after. Craig’s Oz costume was surprisingly easy. Lift up this part please?”

As Anthony complies, the door opens and Marcel walks in with a half-asleep Simone and a yawning Chrissy. A little girl has wrapped herself around Chrissy’s neck and their ASM supports her weight by holding onto her legs. “Mornin’,” Chrissy mumbles. “This is my younger sister Sarah, she’ll be joining us for today.”

“Hi Sarah!” Melina greets her. “Welcome to theater! I work on costumes, while my boyfriend here is in the play!”

Sarah, who’s also half asleep, nods and manages a smile before going back to bed. Anthony tries not to laugh as Marcel opens the sound booth and unlocks the door to K2. 

K2 was a room above the sound booth; it was usually locked, the only way in was a ladder, and there was a long open window that looked out over the entire auditorium. It wasn’t quite as tall as the catwalk, but it was a decent height up there.

There’s a bunch of pillows and blankets stacked in the corner. Simone kisses her boyfriend, moves the pile into something manageable, and plops down and falls back asleep. Chrissy and Sarah join her a few seconds later.

Marcel, for his own worth, manages to stay awake as he struggles to keep his eyes open. “Need any help, Melina?”

“Nah, Anthony just helped me finished the last thing.” Melina yawns. Marcel nods and heads back up to the sound booth. Anthony lets his girlfriend go up to join them and hurriedly scribbles on a piece of paper, going to tape it on the auditorium door. 

we’re all in k2 taking a nap, join us if ya want but everything’s done! 

He can hear the door open in the background; it’s Tyler, yelling loudly at someone. The laughs that come with the yell sound like Nogla and Kelly. 

Anthony just grins and hurries up to K2; he climbs the ladder and collapses into the pile, snoozing next to Melina and Marcel. 

Their alarms are set. They’ll wake up in an hour and fifteen minutes for 8:30. 

Nap time, at least.

* * *

Chrissy’s alarm goes off first; Anthony cracks open his eyes and groans, trying not to laugh as he realizes half the entire cast/crew is sleeping with them. 

From his position, he can spot Evan and Jon snoring near Tyler, and Smitty’s passed out with John. Lanai has her arm around Suni; Nogla has Jaclyn pressed up against his chest. Chrissy even has Kelly in her arms, face buried in her hair. 

Craig and Brian are snoring together as they share a blanket and Anthony finally lets loose a cackle, effectively waking a few of them up. “Thanks dude,” Chrissy gratefully thanks him as she turns off her phone. “I legit would’ve kept sleeping through the alarm if you didn’t laugh.” It takes her a moment to realize that Kelly's waking up with her, and her face starts to turn an interesting shade of red.

The rest of the room sighs and a few of them laugh with Anthony, getting up as well. “Can we make that our new alarm?” Craig sleepily asks. “Anthony’s goddamn laugh?”

“Shut the fuck up, Mini!” Brian hisses. “There’s a kid here!”

Several people glare at him until Brian realizes what he’s said and quietly admits defeat.

Brock appears at the entrance to K2, hanging off the ladder. “Good morning everyone! McQuaid just got here and we have thirty minutes until the kids start arriving. Lui and Kelly brought a bunch of donuts if you didn’t get anything.”

Anthony spots Kelly and Chrissy, both red as they stare at each other. _Goddamn it you idiots, just kiss!_ He thinks to himself, narrowing his eyes. 

“Oh thank god,” John mutters as he rolls over. Smitty says something in his sleep and continues to snore, even drooling a bit.

Some of the group snickers and gets up. Anthony hurries down the ladder to find McQuaid looking on with pride as he spots the senior. “Anthony! I have to run to the front to help with tickets, please send Smitty and Ryan to help me out real quick.”

“Will do,” Anthony salutes him, and he heads off to find Ryan on the catwalk. He has to lean up and holler, “RYAN! McQuaid needs you at the ticket stand!”

“The lights are fine, right?” The freshman’s faint voice echoes down. 

Anthony nods before realizing that he can’t see him. “Yeah! They look good dude!”

“Thanks!” Ryan says happily as he climbs down the ladder. Someone must’ve told Smitty as the other freshman of their group comes jogging up. “Tickets?”

“Yep, at the front. See you guys in a bit!” Anthony waves and hurries off to get into costume. The run crew is attaching microphones to the actors already dressed. Kelly, in her gorgeous pink dress, looks a bit miffed as Jaclyn tries to put her cord somewhere hidden. 

“Your dress is so big,” Jaclyn snickers, successfully clipping it on. Her face is already green; Lanai was getting a lot better at her painting job. Anthony spots her putting the final silver touches on Brian. Tyler has whiskers on his face with his nose painted black and Scotty has his nose painted orange and contoured to look triangle-shaped. 

Kelly adjusts her silver crown and sighs as she hikes up her dress. Jaclyn hands over her silver wand and laughs again. Suni walks over with her checkered outfit and ruby red heels, Luke by her side. Anthony almost laughs again at the sight of his fellow senior friend stuffed into a dog suit. 

“Anthony!” Melina calls for her boyfriend, beckoning him over as she adjusts Craig's Oz costume. “Can you grab your beard out of my bag real quick?"

Since Anthony's first role was to be a Munchkin, they needed someone with a minor role to be the guard at the Emerald City. If you stuffed Anthony in a green suit, gave him a hat and beard, he was perfect!!

He hustles off and grabs his beard and hat from Melina's bag, returning backstage to set them down next to his costumes. Everything's done. It's nearly time.

Suni peeks out of the curtain and her eyes go wide. "There's kids sitting down!" She breathes, looking excited. "So this is for them?"

"Yeah!" Anthony says to her with a grin. "This one is primarily the children's show, so don't worry about messing up. Improvise as best you can and the kids don't even notice."

"Have things gone wrong on stage before? In the actual performance?" Suni asks. He notices that she's more nervous than she's letting on. It's her first major role, of course she's concerned.

Anthony immediately laughs. "Oh yeah! We had Jack and the Beanstalk last year and holy _shit_ that entire performance was crazy. We had crates for the market scene and they broke in every single performance."

Suni puts her hand to her mouth so she can try not to laugh. "Really?"

Evan hurries by with Craig's Oz cane in his hand and stops dead in his tracks. "Are you talking about the crates from last year?"

"Maybe!" Anthony cheekily grins. "Suni's worried about messing up on stage."

Evan exhales and closes his eyes. "Okay, so the crates broke in all six shows, we had to fix them every night, the house for the giant had locks that weren't great and they popped up and rolled the house away so Jon had to throw himself onto stage to fix those, and then the same house got stuck in the curtains and nearly ripped them. Changing the rust to gold on the house was a damn nightmare; the magnets didn't work all the time so me, Lanai, and Jon had to keep taping them on."

The junior acknowledges his classmate and Anthony feels a swell of pride. "Don't worry. Something might go wrong, it might not, but don't worry. You've got the run crew and several actors on stage with you. Nogla's really good at what he does and so is Simone. Trust us, you'll be perfectly fine."

Suni nods, grateful as the lights start to dim. "Good morning everyone!" Bryce's voice echoes from the stage in front of the red curtain. "I'm Mr. McQuaid, the teacher for theater, and welcome to our performance!"

He goes over the basic safety rules as Chrissy joins them backstage. "Marcel's in his spot at the sound booth, we're all ready." She says with a smile. "Sarah has a front row seat."

"And now, I will hand this over to our wonderful Stage Manager, Marcel Cunningham!" Bryce starts to clap and the auditorium joins in. The cast and crew add their own whistles, grinning as they think of their beloved senior.

 _"Hello!"_ Marcel's voice rings out over the auditorium. Nogla has the sound setting perfect; _well done, Daithi_ Anthony thinks to himself. 

_"I hope you enjoy our performance. We've worked really hard on this. Please enjoy, and afterwards you can meet our cast and crew outside the doors!"_

Marcel turns off the mic and the shiver of excitement runs through Anthony. This is his fourth and final year; after the musical and then the awards, he's graduating. 

It's a bit daunting to think about but he's got his theater family by his side. He's going to be alright.

The clapping dies down and the lights turn back on while the curtain rises to show the house, painted in hues of orange and yellow. Suni walks out of the house and a few kids gasp excitedly. Her checkered dress is perfect and her hair is pulled back into two braids. Her shoes are a pair of flats, which is good because it means the ruby heels are backstage. 

"Toto!" Suni calls, waving delightedly at the side of the house that the kids can't see. Chrissy, using the backstage headset to keep Marcel and McQuaid in touch, makes sure she doesn't hit the button as she starts laughing quietly. Anthony can literally feel the wheeze rising up in his throat as Luke walks out on two legs and in his dog suit. His facial expression screams "I hate you guys" but the kids are laughing, so it kinda makes up for it.

Suni almost laughs too before she regains her composure. "Aunty Em and Uncle Henry are out, and we must stay away from our horrible neighbor! She wants you gone!" 

Luke sighs before barking once. Anthony spots the rest of the backstage crew crying in a group. 

Lanai strides out wearing a big jacket and heels. It was unheard of for a stagehand to be on stage speaking lines, but they needed someone to be the bitchy neighbor. They also figured that it wouldn't go well with the kids if they said "had to put Toto down", so they improvised. 

"I want that dog removed off this property!" Lanai snaps. "If he is not gone before I get back, I am calling the police!"

Lanai walks back off and Suni gasps. "See Toto! We have to hide! Quickly, into the house!"

"Damn, she's good." Kelly mutters, making sure the kids can't see her as she walks off to her spot. Jaclyn joins her and Anthony's eyes widen as he realizes this is almost his first scene.

In the sound booth, Nogla turns a switch on, and Simone lowers the lights again. Ryan's placement of the lights is flawless; they start to flash, giving the idea of a storm. The backdrop shows a giant twister starting to form. 

"It's a tornado!" Suni shouts, holding onto Luke. "Get down!" She tackles Luke to the floor and Evan and Jon pop onto stage in jet black clothing. They unlock the house and start to spin it, doing their best to go faster. "Just a few more seconds," Chrissy says under her breath. 

Suddenly, the lights go out, and the sound dies down. Evan and Jon put the house into position and rush off to put several props out. Kelly gets into position and Anthony hides behind a giant flower. From his spot, he can see all the kids at the edge of their seats. Suni gets up and slowly opens the door, making sure the audience can see her expression. "Toto," she says in awe, staring at the environment, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

Anthony makes sure to poke his head out and Suni gasps while Luke barks again. "You've killed the Wicked Witch of the East!" Anthony points at the wooden legs under the house. It's the prop Jon was working on; the black and white striped tights are placed perfect and the ruby heels glow in the light.

Kelly's bubble glows at the top right of the backdrop. The area fogs up, and while the kids focus their attention on the bubble that isn't real, Evan wheels out the actual one. It's literally just a wire frame with some translucent shit around it, but it works as Kelly stands in the bubble, regal and magnificent. 

(Later on, Jon and Lanai would claim that Chrissy nearly dropped her walkie-talkie at the sight of Kelly, but their ASM would deny it until weeks later.)

The kids gasp at the sight of Kelly. Anthony hurries over and offers his hand, bowing at her. Kelly winks before taking his hand and stepping out. "Dorothy, welcome to the Land of Oz." Kelly waves her silver wand around. "I am Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and you have saved Munckinland from a terrible foe."

"Oh!" Suni's eyes widen. "Cool."

A puff of smoke and a flash of a light signals Jaclyn's arrival. She's holding a broomstick and glaring angrily with her black dress and green-painted face. "Who DARES to kill my sister?" Jaclyn snarls. "I am the Wicked Witch of the West, and you must pay for these crimes! Those shoes are mine!"

"Not so fast!" Kelly snaps back. She points at Suni's feet; the lights darken again. Anthony knows this is one of the most difficult switches in the whole show. Lanai, waiting near the house, has to unbuckle the heels and toss them to Suni as their lead actress has to do the same with her flats. 

Three seconds past and the lights turn back on. Anthony exhales as Suni stands a little taller with her ruby heels. Kelly looks proud as Jaclyn stomps her broomstick in anger. "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!" She threatens as she vanishes in a cloud of smoke. 

Kelly directs Suni and Luke down the yellow brick road and then the scene's over. The next few scenes pass without any hassle; Scotty looks hilarious with straw sticking out of his clothes, Brian looks dashing with his paint and silver clothes, and everyone does their best to not laugh at Tyler, who looks a bit disgruntled as he cowers away from everything with his cat ears, tail, and whiskers. 

The kids are loving it. Even the adults are laughing; it's going really well! Anthony changes into the palace guard costume and reluctantly lets the main four pass. Oz lets his voice echo around the room and tells them that they need to take down the Wicked Witch to get what they want. 

The stage lights dim, the curtain closes, the house lights come on, and Marcel's voice comes out clearly in the auditorium. _"Intermission has begun; we will resume in ten minutes!"_

Suni exhales and looks at the stage crew. They have giant grins as she asks, "Was that okay?"

"That was amazing!" Brian, the closest one, wraps her in a giant hug. "Are you sure this is your first year in theater? You were a natural!"

"The delivery on your lines were flawless," Kelly adds as she comes walking out with her dress hiked up to reveal her sneakers underneath. "Well done!"

Anthony congratulates them and then heads to the tech crew. "You guys were incredible," he sincerely tells them. "Smitty, you did a fantastic job and I hope you're enjoying yourself during this."

"I am!" The freshman says happily. "This is so much fun. Thank you for this opportunity."

Anthony goes to poke his head out of the curtains. Some kids are getting up to grab snacks and quite possibly go bathroom. A dark figure slips past them and hurries up the stairs to the spotlights; it's Ryan, arms loaded with food. He makes a pit stop at John's spotlight before heading across to Brock. 

One more act and five more shows. They've got this in the bag.

* * *

When intermission's over, the play resumes without any disturbances and Anthony gets to watch Jaclyn in all her glory as she battles it out against the main crew. Lui does a spectacular job as a Winged Monkey, attacking from the sides and even dragging Suni and Luke off as they get "kidnaped." 

Luke leads Scott, Brian, and Tyler on the adventure to save Suni. Their lead actress throws water onto Jaclyn in response to the "fire" that starts to blaze on Scotty. The fog rolls in, Jaclyn wails in disbelief, and sinks to the ground. When the fog clears, there's only black clothing on the floor. 

They meet Oz and Luke "trips" and falls onto the screen covering Craig. The junior looks shocked before bashfully admitting that he has no powers. "But!" Craig adds, sweeping his cane around, "the Scarecrow has a brain! The Tin Man has a heart, and the Lion has always had courage. You just had to look inside of yourself!"

Craig departs for "Kansas" as Suni gets stuck behind, crying out for him to wait. When he leaves, Kelly appears and tells her about the shoes. Scott, Brian, and Tyler bid her farewell as she wakes up back home.

When the play ends with Suni hugging Luke, the kids leap to their feet and scream. The adults clap and whistle, and Anthony spots the sound booth crew going crazy upstairs.

The curtain shuts, the spotlights turn on one final time, and the entire cast goes out on stage. Anthony stands in-between Scotty and Lui as Suni stands in the middle, beaming with pride. 

_"You can ask our cast a few questions before you officially meet them outside!"_ Marcel calls above the rambunctious kids. _"We'll take five questions!"_

A little girl shoots her hand into the air and Suni calls on her. "How long did this take?" She asks, and Anthony is startled at how mature her question is. They're fifth graders; some of them could be a bit mature for their age and actually understand the whole idea of theater or some of them would ask why Dorothy and the Wicked Witch were standing right next to each other if the latter was dead. 

Suni blinks in surprise. "Oh! This took a little over two months, because of lights and sound and costumes! We all had to learn lines and rehearse everything."

The girl nods, satisfied, and Anthony spots Chrissy's little sister raise her hand. Suni nods at her and smiles. "Yes, Sarah?"

"How'd you do some of the backstage stuff?" Sarah asks, gesturing to the curtain. "Like that bubble?"

Some of the kids murmur excitedly as Chrissy leads out the tech crew. Anthony thought it was a dumb rule; the cast were allowed to go out first for the questions, but the tech crew couldn't go unless someone directly addressed them. 

Evan and Jon grin as Lanai wraps her arm around Smitty. Ryan's up at the sound booth, watching with Nogla, Simone, Marcel, and McQuaid.

"The bubble was a wire frame we had to bend to create the circular shape," Evan explains. "After that, we bought some translucent paper to cover the bubble but left an area unglued so we could get Glinda—Kelly, who's standing right there—in and out without hassle due to her giant dress!"

The kids "ooh" and Kelly curtsies as best she can in the pink dress. A few more simple questions get asked and the cast and crew provide the answers, and then they all head outside for pictures.

Understandably, they crowd around Suni, Jaclyn, and Kelly. A few kids choose Craig and Anthony laughs at the pure joy on his face, standing off to the side with the minor characters.

Despite their short roles, a few kids come up to them too and ask for pictures. Anthony willingly obliges and smiles widely for the camera. This is _so worth_ everything they worked for. Long nights, the frantic turning in of homework...the joy he feels in this moment is completely worth it.

Someone wraps their arms around his waist; it's Melina, who has bright red cheeks. "Marcel said I was the seamstress and a lot of adults congratulated me," she mumbles, burrowing her face into his back. Anthony twists around and presses a kiss to her cheek. 

"You're wonderful," he whispers into her ear, and she squeezes him a bit. "I love you."

"I love you more," Melina whispers back, and he holds her hand and knows he'll love her until they're old and sitting in rocking chairs.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Marcel shouts as he stands in the middle of a slowly forming group picture. "Get your butts over here! This group picture isn't complete without you guys!"

Anthony grins and drags her over as they pose in the picture. McQuaid stands off to the side with a huge smile and an adult takes the picture for them. 

The crowds disperse and everyone finally leaves. The cast and crew heads back to the auditorium where Marcel leaps onto stage, running on adrenaline. Anthony's known Marcel from their first day of freshman year; the other senior is completely ecstatic, pausing as everyone sits down. Melina tugs the clothing rack from the back and allows the cast to take their outfits off and set them on the rack. 

Kelly sits down with a sigh of relief, along with Tyler and Luke. Brian snickers before grinning at the multiple middle fingers in his face. 

Anthony looks up at Marcel with a grin. Their SM pauses and looks at the group. He shuts his eyes and then screeches, pumping his fist into the air. "WE FUCKING DID IT!"

The roar from cast and crew shakes the auditorium. They all stomp their feet, whistling and cheering and Marcel wipes away the tears in his eyes. McQuaid gets on stage as well and claps a hand on Marcel's back. "Well done!" McQuaid calls out. "We still have five shows to perform, and I am so proud of everyone for doing an excellent job with our first one. Kudos to all of you!"

Marcel leaps down to give a group hug. Anthony wraps his arms around Marcel and Melina and laughs, feeling the tears pool in his eyes. "Five more to go," Chrissy says from his left. "We can do this. I'm so honored to be your ASM. Let's get some water, rest up, and start getting ready again in an hour." 

Anthony takes Melina's hand as they head backstage. "Come with me to get coffee?" Melina asks, and laughs as Anthony swoops her up. "Of course!" He declares as she giggles. 

He grabs his car keys and they grab Craig, Brian, and Brock to head off. "Five more to go," Brian repeats, and Craig puffs out his chest at Starbucks to the laughter of everyone. 

"This is gonna be great!" Brock cheers. "I love being spotlight. I get to watch you guys at your peak. I'm proud of all of you."

Brian kisses him on the cheek and Anthony beams at his friends. "This is so fucking worth it," he laughs, and they chime their agreements as he tips back his coffee, eyes fluttering shut as he thinks of the future and the excitement it'll bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all the stuff evan mentions from "last year's performance"? real life stuff that actually happened. rip.
> 
> in my worst nightmares I see those crates. they're truly the bane of my existence.
> 
> please note; this is from my one year of tech theater. it's probably very different at other schools, but I still had a blast from one year. join theater if you want! if you want to be on stage but don't want to be lead actor/actress, there are background roles that are still important. do what you love, and always enjoy and have fun!


	18. coffee nights (intermission one)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second semester of senior year started, and I'm so determined to exempt every single one of my exams at the end of the year. :D
> 
> I've missed y'all, still busy but still doing my best to write!

Thursday night, sometime around 2 am, Brian crawls into bed with Brock and exhales. He’s exhausted; they’ve just finished coming back from the dinner the entire cast and crew go to when they finish all the shows. 

The Wizard of Oz was a giant success. Three shows a day for two days; despite the few mishaps that happened during the show, they’ve succeeded and now they were going to probably sleep in.

But…

Brian can’t sleep.

He’s tired, he really is, but he just can’t bring himself to go to bed. 

Brian glances over at his sleeping boyfriend and manages to smile. The senior is passed out, snoring a bit as he wraps himself around a pillow. 

Brock probably didn’t know how much he meant to Brian. Maybe one day the junior would be able to show him.

Brian leans over and presses a gentle kiss to Brock’s forehead, getting out of bed and heading to the kitchen. He scribbles a note on a piece of paper and grabs Brock’s keys, heading out the front door and closing it silently. 

be back in a bit brocky, had to go clear my head. if u wake up before I get home send me a txt and I’ll let you know that I’m okay. 

Luckily for him, Brock’s always kept his car running smoothly so nothing’s clanging or making that much noise as he pulls out of the driveway and heads down the street.

It’s dark out. It’s exactly what Brian needs.

He knows the route to Starbucks at this point. He could probably walk there if there were no other ways, but he continues to drive and parks. It takes him a second to calm his breathing. 

Brian Hanby was a junior struggling to get out of his house and somewhere that felt like home. His freshman year, he had met Lanai and Brock and became good friends.

Lanai had opened her home to him; her mothers were so kind and sweet and they never minded that he was a guy. They trusted him, and two years later they still did. 

Brock’s parents learned about his situation and allowed him to stay day and night at their place. Sophomore year, he developed a crush on both his fellow junior and senior, and did his best to forget about it.

In Brian’s life, there was no time for love. He had to learn basic survival skills before he learned his entire goddamn time tables. 

His parents never taught him how to cook? YouTube tutorials and canned food, along with instructions on microwaved items. 

He had to clean by himself and become independent at a young age. Somewhat like Nogla, which was how they bonded, and even Kelly.

Sometimes, being loved made him panic. He wasn’t used to it. It was easy to flirt with others, but genuine love made him worried. What if he didn’t live up to his own expectations? 

And here he was dating Brock, literally the sweetest and kindest guy in their group, and Brian himself was only someone who could barely keep his shit together. 

What did Brock see in him?

Brian gets out of the car and checks his phone. The one person he can talk to is actually available, and he definitely uses this to his advantage. 

Brian: Hey so 

Brian: I know ur awake 

Brian: …Can you come to Starbucks and talk? 

Craig: On my way :) 

The sigh of relief startles himself and he walks inside, managing a smile at the tired barista. “I’m sorry to bother you at this hour,” Brian begins as he thankfully already knows what he wants. “Having a super bad night and this is the only place that helps me clear my thoughts.”

“It’s all good,” the barista yawns. “Whatcha need?”

“A venti milk chocolate mocha cappuccino, please?” Brian asks as he pulls out his wallet. Outside the store, a car pulls up and Craig comes sprinting towards the front. 

The barista winces and sighs. “Is he your friend? We see him every single day, I swear. I think the guy is literally made of coffee.”

“He is, he’s the one who got me addicted.” Brian grudgingly nods and pays the nice person. 

Craig pants a bit as he reaches Brian. “I’ll take whatever he’s having!” His dear friend says proudly. “Unless it’s soy.”

The barista punches in the final order and Craig pays, not noticing Brian’s withering stare. “When the hell have I ever gotten soy.”

“I don’t know, you might one day and then we can’t be friends.” Craig shrugs as he heads to sit down. Brian sighs again and sits with him. “So what’d you need me for at this hour? Not that I’m complaining, you’re my favorite Irish dude and I’d probably jack off to your voice.”

The barista chokes from the other side of the room while Brian, completely unfazed, just blinks in acknowledgement. “I can respect that.”

The Irishman takes a moment to compose his thoughts as Craig watches, blinking and successfully stifling his yawn. “I…well…”

The kind barista actually takes the time to hand them their drinks, giving them faint smiles. “Hope you figure out what’s wrong and fix it dude.”

“Thank you,” Brian calls to them as Craig immediately starts drinking. The drink washes away the clog in his throat and he clears it a final time, looking at his dear friend. 

“I’m scared I’m not good enough for Brock.”

Craig’s eyes widen and he sets his cappuccino down. “Oh. Is it…your parents again?”

“Yeah.” Brian clenches his fist. He can’t help but think of his life; the brush-off from his parents, the silent acknowledgment that Brian was alive for now but _whatever, right?_ “Brock’s parents are so kind and sometimes I don’t know if I deserve it.” 

“Of course you do.” Craig says immediately. "It's kinda like Tyler. That giant asshole has a soft side just like you; he just covers his with angry insults and yelling while you tend to flirt and tell jokes. But both of you had shit childhoods, not to mention Jon and Smitty too, along with several friends and holy fuck I just realized half our group has fucked lives. Anyways. You always deserve a place to call home, Brian, and Brock's the one giving it to you."

"I know," Brian whispers as he stares down at his drink. He swirls the straw and exhales again. "But Brock's amazing and I'm..."

Craig doesn't even let him finish his sentence. "Brock is nowhere NEAR perfect. Shit, I think Evan would be the guy to talk about Brock since he's known him longer than I have, but I like to think I know our dear senior teddy bear. He's so shy and he's so awkward, dude. You literally charmed him and helped him come out of his shell. Yeah Marcel and the other seniors helped a lot too, but when we joined theater he literally couldn't stop following you everywhere because of your shitty jokes."

At that, Brian cracks a smile. It was true; Brock was so fascinated by puns that he eventually challenged Marcel to be the pun master. They ended up being tied, and they both gladly wore that title. 

But it was Brian who brought confidence to his beloved boyfriend. 

He chokes on a sob and Craig wraps an arm around his shoulder. "It'll be okay dude. It's gonna be okay. You've got Brock, you've got me, and you've got the theater family."

"I'm so glad your sleep schedule is just as fucked as mine," Brian laughs wetly as he practically collapses into Craig's arms. "I don't know anyone else that would've been up at this hour."

"It depends on what I'm doing," Craig smiles into his shoulder. "I have Tyler staying over at the house right now. He's probably flipping out, whoops."

Suddenly, both of their phones buzz and the two boys leap a foot into the air. Brian regains his breath as Craig laughs and shows him the notification. "Speak of the devil."

Tyler: dude where the FUCK are you 

Tyler: I woke up and you weren't here and Im seriously worried 

Craig texts him back as Brian checks his own phone. 

Brock: Brian? 

Brock: I got your message. Are you okay? I realized you weren't here because the bed got cold, and I was really worried...please let me know if you're okay. 

A small smile tugs at the corner of Brian's lip. He loves Brock. He really does. He's Brian's entire world. 

Maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to show himself that he was worthy of the love of his life. 

Brian: Yes, I'm okay love 

Brian: On way home, I stopped for a drink with a friend. 

Brian: That sounds like I went to a bar omg no I just went to starbucks with craig 

He can practically hear the sigh of relief from his boyfriend. Craig turns around and waves his phone at him before getting up and pocketing it. "That's my cue, the idiot is actually freaking out over me being gone."

"Dumbass," Brian speaks of Tyler fondly. "Speaking of him...what's going on with him, you, and Suni?"

A shadow darkens over Craig's face and then vanishes. "...That's for another day."

"That's fair. I'll see you later dude, be sure to drive home safely." Brian gives him a hug. "Tell Tyler I said hi."

"Will do," Craig replies as he steps out. Brian watches his dear friend turn on the car and drive off. When his headlights fade from view, Brian finishes his coffee and waves at the barista as he steps out. 

The car ride home has Brian tapping on the wheel, finally feeling the weight of no sleep bearing on him. He turns into Brock's driveway and quietly sneaks into the house, setting his boyfriend's keys in the bowl. 

When he heads into Brock's room, he's waiting for Brian as he sits on his bed. "Brian," Brock whispers into the dark. "Are you alright?"

"I was feeling shitty earlier and now I'm feeling better." Brian smiles as he walks over. Brian's a few inches taller than Brock and he definitely uses this to his advantage as he wraps himself around his boyfriend. "Felt like I didn't deserve you because of how I was raised."

"Oh, _Brian..."_ Brock's voice is shocked but filled with sympathy. "I love you for who you are, and nothing is ever going to change that. Y'know, you're almost 18. You can move in with me if you'd like?"

At that, Brian jerks up and stares at the senior. "You mean it?"

"Of course!" Brock smiles. "Just for you. As soon as your birthday comes up, we'll have you move in."

Brian presses kisses to Brock's cheek and then lips, struggling not to cry. "Thank you," he rasps. "I love you."

"I love you more. How about we stay home from school and then marathon movies?" Brock offers, laughing as Brian tugs him back to bed. "I'm assuming that's a yes."

"Definitely." Brian snickers as he pulls the covers up. They could deal with their issues another day, but for now, Brian's loved and that's all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have a new story posted on feb. 14th featuring our fav poly quad group. ;)))
> 
> turns out a lot of people enjoyed that pairing??? and so did I, actually, because I had no idea 'in which revenge' was gonna end like that but things happen! 
> 
> I'm excited to post it. it's gonna be called 'the price of oblivion.' :)


	19. thanksgiving joy (intermission two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im so sorry for the wait!! school's kicking my ass. 
> 
> heir of grief's second and final chapter will be out soon and then that'll be done, and then I'll be working on price of oblivion as well as this one.
> 
> I have zero idea when this story is gonna end LOL but oblivion definitely has 28 chapters. 
> 
> this intermission will be done after a chapter for christmas and then new year's. the musical portion of this story will resume after that!

Luke’s house, although mostly empty, is still home to many items left behind by the crew. 

Jon somehow owns about a thousand blue hoodies so of course there’s three or four hoodies scattered around, some in a guest room or even draped in Luke’s closet.

Brian definitely has stuff hidden in his fridge, Kelly probably has things there too, and several others. 

Honestly, Luke doesn’t really care. He’s glad his house isn’t empty.

And today it definitely wouldn’t be.

Thanksgiving Day, he’s checking on the turkey that’s slow-roasting in the oven and starting up the stove. There’s a loud yawn from the living room; it’s Nogla, sleepily getting up as he joins Luke in the kitchen. 

It was a strange tradition they ended up doing. The kids who were independent and trying to get out of the house would head over to Luke’s and help him cook dinner, while the others who were okay with their parents would spend a few hours with them and then head on over. 

It worked out well. They always had a good time with their friends and family, and the mood was always fun and loving.

Luke was an independent man who loved his friends to death. He always made sure that they were alright, and he learned how to patch them up after learning about Jon and the shit he went through.

Now his baby bro (not really, but whatever right?) got to live with his crush and best friend. Miracles could actually happen.

Nogla gives Luke a smile as he goes to open the cereal box in Luke’s pantry. “Mornin’ Lukey.”

“Morning Daithi,” Luke grins as he stretches and winces as his back cracks. “Jaclyn still asleep?”

“Yep, and I’m gonna leave her there for a bit.” Nogla nods. “Want me to wake up the rest of them?”

“Nah, I’ll do it.” Luke appreciates the offer. “I’m glad I bought extra snacks, I figured you’d eat them.”

Nogla’s huffing laughter is loud as Luke exits his kitchen and heads to the other living room. There’s another couch and TV, and that’s where Kelly is currently snoring as she’s sprawled out with limbs everywhere.

Luke snickers and goes to wake her up. “Kells. Kelly.”

“What,” she sleepily murmurs.

“You said to wake you up when it’s noon.”

“And?”

“It _is_ noon.”

Kelly sighs and shuffles around, letting her silver hair dangle off the couch. “I lied, lemme sleep for another hour or two or seven.”

Luke looks amused before he nudges her again. “If I let you sleep any longer, you’re going to wake up later and be cranky and then be mad that I didn’t wake you up. So what’s it gonna be?”

Kelly’s quiet for a second before she laughs and finally gets up. “That’s fair. Well shit, I make a mean mac ’n cheese and with Jaclyn’s help it’s gonna be delicious.”

She gets up and takes her overnight bag to the bathroom to freshen up. Luke takes the opportunity to head to the guest bedroom. 

Inside, John, Smitty, and Ryan are snoozing in the bed and still very much passed out. Luke takes his chances and goes to Ryan, gently shaking him. “Wake up, idiot. I need you to go get some stuff for me.”

“Whazzit?” Ryan mutters. 

Luke gives him a moment to take it in. Ryan’s parents were constantly working and never had time for their kid. They did love him, that was true, but they were just so busy that they never did anything for Ryan.

Luke was the one who stepped in. He had met Ryan in his 8th grade (Luke’s junior year) after spotting him struggling to reach the house key that was too high for him to reach.

Ryan had explained the situation; he had forgotten his key and of course his parents weren’t home, so Luke kindly got the key for him. After that, it was history, and now the senior was able to provide his dear friend the biggest family he could get. 

It takes a few seconds and then Ryan sits up. “Oh yeah!” He gets out of bed and yawns before following Luke out of the room. “Should I wake John and Smitty?”

“Nah. They’re good for now. Anyways, the rest of the group should be coming over here in about four and a half hours.” Luke informs him. “If you want a snack, you better hoard it because Nogla’s going to ruin my cereal stock and everyone else will attack you for any food.”

“Noted.” Ryan winces. 

Kelly emerges from the bathroom and pushes her hair behind her shoulder. “Want me to go with him? I’ll drive your truck.”

“Hell yes, I have to make sure Daithi doesn’t eat all my food.” Luke laughs. The three head to the kitchen once more where they find Jaclyn putting her hair up and Nogla stuffing his face with more cereal. 

“I’m pretty good with making sides,” Jaclyn offers. “Kelly, you asked me to help you with mac ’n cheese right?”

“Yeah! Come with us to the store?” Kelly requests; Jaclyn grins and follows them out the door.

Thirty minutes later, Smitty and John come stumbling into the living room and eye Nogla down, who’s chugging some milk. “Morning,” John mutters, and Smitty just yawns and nearly falls back asleep. 

Luke laughs and gestures to his kitchen. “Good afternoon, losers. We have about four hours until the rest of us get here. Anything you guys want to make?”

Kyroz shrugs sheepishly. “We’re not very good at cooking. I can clean though, I’ve had to clean up, uh, messes before.”

Luke understands immediately; the side effect of Jon’s dad drinking and making a mess caused Jon to hate cleaning. He absolutely refused to anymore, but the exact opposite had happened to John with Smitty. 

“Could you help clean the kitchen table and grab chairs?” Luke asks, and Kyroz grins before going to work. 

The countdown keeps on going.

* * *

Thirty minutes before they’re all due to arrive, Luke opens the door to spot Evan, Jon, Lanai, Brian, and Brock. “Hey guys! Come on in!”

“It smells super good in here,” Lanai says approvingly. “Well done! I’m guessing that Kelly helped?”

“She made some of it!” Jaclyn calls from behind Luke. “The rest of us helped. Come on in!”

“This is my own house,” Luke says, amused as they walk in. “Please, just help yourself to my food and sleep in my bed.”

“Thanks Luke!” Jon cheers as he vanishes into the hallway. Luke groans as Evan snickers. “He’s been exhausted all day, being around a family for Thanksgiving is a bit…y’know.”

“He always came over here early right?” Kyroz comments as he passes them with several plates. The buffet set up on the other side of the kitchen looks incredible with all sorts of drinks and cups stacked near it. 

"Yeah, he did." Evan confirms. "But he spent the first half of today with my parents. I think he enjoyed it!"

"He likes you a lot, Ev." Nogla says happily as he walks on by. Brian just snickers and doesn't say anything as he hurries to grab some mashed potatoes, not noticing the way Evan's eyes widen and stares at his shoes. "He does?"

Everyone in the area groans and slaps a hand to their face. "Evan," Luke snickers as Kelly groans from the kitchen, "he's literally told all of us that he wants to date you. You're so oblivious, dude."

"Well, shit." Evan admits. "Guess I gotta start making plans to ask him out."

Luke grins and gives him a high-five. "Congrats on realizing my bro has a thing for you. Wanna wait a bit before you eat?"

"Sure, thanks."

The rest of the gang files in over the interval of the next thirty minutes. Luke can't help but smile as his house grows more crowded and louder, laughter and joy being the main emotions that fill the air. This is exactly what he's been waiting for; it feels like home, and he's determined to not take it for granted. 

Of course, there are some rough patches that he cannot ignore. Scott's rubbing his arm as Simone quietly checks it, murmuring in his ear. Luke figures he got caught trying to sneak out before he made it to Marcel's. 

Tyler looks tired too as he yawns, successfully managing to smile at Craig as he gets dragged by the Brit to get food. He stops by Kelly and says something before she wraps him into a hug. 

Luke just wants his family to be happy. 

Everyone grabs a plate of delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, mac 'n cheese, and various sides and takes their place at the giant table. Luke sits at the head of the table while Evan snags the other side. 

Evan has Jon and Tyler on either side of him while Luke has Smitty and Craig. The giant senior stands tall and gently clinks his fork against his glass, making several people laugh at the sight. "We're not at a fancy dinner party, Luke!" Jon shouts from the other side of the table.

Luke flips him off to the laughter of everyone. "Shut the fuck up, I do what I want. ANYWAYS. Happy Thanksgiving to you guys, and I'm glad everyone could make it."

He sort of directs that last statement at Chrissy; she was extremely late every year, and this is the first time in four years that she's made it on time and kinda early. They're all very proud of her and Simone still keeps her safe in her house, where she's growing happier and healthier. 

He's noticed that several friends keep others safe either out of love or friendship. It's honestly something that he's grateful for, kinda like Melina having Anthony stay with her and Brock preparing to have Brian move in.

Evan might even have Jon with him permanently now while Tyler's considering to stay with Mini. 

Luke refuses to say anything, but Marcel's confided in him that he plans on taking Scott from his house and away from his brother and parents. 

"We're glad you could host us again!" Anthony holds up his drink and toasts him. "Marcel, anything you wanna say?"

The senior, sitting in-between Simone and Chrissy, grins and gets out of his seat. "We're almost halfway through the year. I've had the chance to grow even more with all of you amazing people, and I've even managed to get the woman of my dreams."

Simone blushes as the table wolf-whistles. Marcel gives her a loving look before turning back. "The play is done, the musical is next. I'm very excited to see what the future has in store, and I'm proud to call you guys my family. Luke, if you could have the honors?"

Luke grins as he says, "Let's eat!"

The crew digs in and stuffs their faces. Luke eats a piece of turkey as he listens to Craig and Smitty crack jokes and talk shit. The junior and freshman laugh as they point at their respective best friends; Smitty mimics a dick getting sucked and Mini nearly chokes on his food. 

Smitty had been doing much better with his recovery. John threw out every bottle of alcohol in his house and constantly made sure Smitty had either water or soda.

The freshman was getting better. He was getting healthier, and he was no longer pale; the former color of his face reminded them of milk. 

Evan clears his throat and everyone looks over at him. "Jon will be living with me from now on. I'm getting him away from his parents for good, I refuse to let him spend the last several months stuck in that hellhole."

"Well done," Kelly murmurs her appreciation as Jon smiles in gratitude. The rest of the table expresses their joy and either clap Evan on the back or toast him as well. 

They all resume eating and laughing, telling stories. 

Luke gives Suni a thumbs up as she recounts the time she tripped on stage and took down Luke right in front of the kids. They played it off pretty well, but by then the backstage crew was flipping out and quietly screaming. When Kelly's bubble appeared for the first time, Lanai and a few others ran over to make sure they were alright. 

They both gave them a thumbs up and continued on with the play. _"Champions,"_ Chrissy had proudly called them. 

"That was terrifying," Suni admits. "I thought I screwed up!"

"It was a close call but you pulled it off." Lanai congratulates her. "I can't wait to see what you're going to do for the musical!"

"There will be plenty of time for that later," Marcel laughs. "Right now we're just gonna focus on school and deal with it before it starts up again. When we come back from winter break that's when we'll start."

"Deal!" Some of the crew cheers. 

Luke sits back and hums as he basks in the glow of his family. "Who has Christmas?" He asks, as it shifts often from house to house.

"I can!" Melina offers. Anthony looks proud as he agrees with his girlfriend. "My parents will be glad to have you guys over."

"There's a lot of us, Melina." Tyler says mildly. "You wanna tell your parents to house over twenty teens?"

She shrugs, trying not to smile. "I'll figure something out."

It's their own pocket of joy for now; away from their families, away from school, and then they'll be back to work once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I learned what Scotty's last name was and it's actually real because I went back far enough to find it 
> 
> it's Charles
> 
> Scott Charles
> 
> LMAO


	20. ruby lights and starry nights (intermission three)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOWZERS that was a long break!!! the longest I've taken in a while lmao; sorry for wait! I had to deal with finalizing grades and I got A/B honor roll!!
> 
> I have three stories up and running again; old habits die hard :')
> 
> I have really good news that I'll be posting in Price of Oblivion!! <3

In a month, Melina finds herself working hard on her school work. She’s super smart, and good at multitasking, so she manages to keep up with the onslaught as exams come up.

Theater has to pause for a few weeks. It’s inevitable; with the amount of reviews they’re all getting, practically no one has time to even think of the musical.

Even though Melina was held back a year in elementary, it never stopped her from working even harder. She left her costumes in the prop shop and spent her afternoons in the PAC, quietly working with her friends. 

Her parents were kind and genuinely liked Anthony, even taking him in when needed. They helped her relax and unwind when she needed to, and in turn she calmed Anthony down. 

Melina helps her friends study for their exams. Smitty and Ryan, taking their finals for the first time, groan in exasperation while all the seniors look dead inside. It's just something that has to happen every year and this one is no different. 

She studies, her grades get finalized, and then it's time for finals. 

(Melina aces them, of course. Anthony is so fucking proud and he gives her a big kiss and tells her that she's the best.) 

They all meet up in the PAC on the last day before break. Craig's already sleeping on stage while Jon's jumping around, cheering as he pumps a fist into the air. "SCHOOL'S OUT!" He hollers, screeching as he jumps onto Evan.

Melina hides a smile as Evan squawks and struggles to catch him. She swings her backpack off her shoulder and tosses it onto the growing pile of backpacks on stage right. "Since Christmas is in a few days, my parents have agreed to letting all of you come!"

"Good fucking luck," Tyler remarks as Suni laughs near him. The two take a quick glance at Craig, who's starting to snore. They both walk a step towards him, but it's Brian who beats Tyler and Suni and he easily lifts his best friend off the ground and onto his shoulders. 

Melina gives him a dismissive shake of her hand and ignores her boyfriend cackling next to her. "Trust me, we have plenty of room." 

Tyler just raises a suspicious eyebrow but turns to say something to Brian, who sticks his tongue out. 

"Sup fuckers," Marcel says loudly as he struts into the room. "Winter break just started and I have word that McQuaid's kicking us out because he wants to go home."

"That's fair," Chrissy laughs from where she's sitting with Kelly. Melina knows that the two of them were starting to try and get back together. The apology was on the tip of Chrissy's tongue, it was obvious, and Kelly was okay with waiting.

"So let's get out of here!" Marcel shouts. "We've got places to be! Shit to do!"

"Food to eat!" Scotty yells back from his spot next to Lanai and Simone. "But seriously though, I'm starving."

Melina glances up at Anthony. "Wanna go eat? I'm so glad exams are over, I'm exhausted!"

Anthony smiles warmly at her and kisses her forehead. "Hell yes. Do you want anyone else to go with us?"

"Sure!" She replies as she brushes her black hair behind her shoulder. "I don't mind at all."

"Anybody want to go eat with us?" Anthony asks as he looks around at the group. Scotty leaps to his feet along with Evan and Jon. Tyler sighs and gets up too. "Sure, not like I have anything better to do."

"Fuck you, asshole." Anthony laughs as he wraps an arm around the junior.

The rest of the crew says goodbye and heads off. Melina knows she'll either see them tomorrow or more likely in the upcoming days, so she's glad to hang out with them for at least a little while. 

Anthony takes her and Scotty while Tyler gets Jon and Evan. Melina sits comfortably in the passenger seat as Scotty bounces excitedly in the backseat. "Dude I'm so excited for winter break!"

"Aren't we all?" Melina asks dreamily. "I wish I was officially recognized as a junior. It would be a lot easier."

"I can't wait till I get there," Scotty confesses. Anthony just hums from the driver's seat. "What's it like being an adult?"

"Annoying," Anthony huffs out a laugh. "But rewarding. I sent in my college application and I'm pretty sure I'll get accepted."

Scotty lets out a low whistle as they park at a nearby pizza place. "Fuck yeah dude, I'm super proud of you."

Melina gets out and tries to study Scott as he rushes off to tackle Tyler. She's not very good at body language, so she sighs and tells herself to ask Kelly or even Jon later about him.

Something's very, very wrong with her fellow sophomore. She's mentioned it to Lui and John and they agree; he's also dealing with shit parents. Would this ever end???

The worst part was, there was nothing they could do. Scott's underage and even then he'd have a hard time talking about it, much less moving. Chrissy's parents never actually hit her so it was up to Tyler and Jon to talk it out with him.

Hm...

Anthony's arm around her waist startles her out of her thoughts. "You alright?" He asks quietly, and Melina smiles. "You had your thinking look on. Something up?"

"Just an idea," she hums, and Anthony kisses her forehead. "You're always thinking of ideas."

"Yeah," Melina says softly as they head into the pizzeria.

She's got all winter break to do something about it, so the thought is pushed aside as they go in to order food.

* * *

Christmas Eve brings her parents decorating their whole house and Melina of course helps. It's her favorite holiday and time of the year. 

Sometime around 4 PM she gets a message.

Tyler: hey melina, I picked up scott and craig early. something happened to scott and he won't talk; can we go over in a bit? 

Melina glances over at her parents. "Is it cool if a few friends come over early? The guest rooms are already ready."

"Sure honey!" Her mom responds with a smile as she hangs an ornament. "It's not a problem."

Melina: Sure dude, my parents said it's okay 

Melina: Does he need any medical aid? 

Tyler: nah he just needs some ice 

Tyler: thanks 

She locks her phone and goes to double-check that the guest room is actually ready. It is; several air mattresses are already blown up and several of her friends are perfectly okay with sleeping on the floor as long as they have blankets and pillows.

It doesn't take long for Tyler's truck to pull into her driveway. Melina's house is thankfully two story so there's no trouble in putting everyone into the two guest rooms, especially since several of them could cuddle with each other. 

Melina startles the group as she throws the door open right as Craig has his fist ready to knock. "Oh shit," Craig laughs. "Also, your house is gorgeous! I don't think any of us have been over?"

"A few of the group has, but majority haven't." Melina shrugs. She opens the door wider to spot Tyler helping Scotty up the driveway. Her dear sophomore friend looks like he's in a bit of pain. She feels her protective instincts flare up as she practically spits, "Who the fuck did this?"

"His mom," Tyler confirms. "He forgot to clean the bathroom and she got a solid punch to his side, he told us in the car." 

There's a strange sense of déjà vu as Melina drags the three in and shuts the door behind them. "Come on," she mutters as she takes them to the living room. "Scott, you're gonna have to fake being okay for a few minutes so I can get you past my parents."

"I can do that," Scotty mumbles. 

Right on cue, Melina's dad pokes his head in. "Sweetie?" He asks, smiling at the guys. "Are these your friends?"

"Yes! That's Scotty, a sophomore like me, and those two are Tyler and Craig." Melina gestures to the three. "They're juniors."

"So we're having the entire theater group come over for Christmas?" Melina's mom walks in. "Hi boys! I'm her mother; if you three need anything, just let me know! Everyone else will be here later."

"Thank you!" Craig answers as Tyler glances over at Scott. Melina's parents walk off and she exhales as Scotty winces in pain. 

"Take him up to the guest room," she whispers as she gestures upstairs. "I'll grab some ice."

Melina hurries off and snatches some ice, putting it in a zip-lock bag and then wrapping that in a paper towel. She brings it upstairs and sets it against the bruise, sighing a bit. "You have to let us help."

"It was my fault," Scotty mutters. "I just screwed up. Let me deal with it." 

Melina glares angrily before Scotty looks away. "..."

"Anyways," Craig says hesitantly, "do you need any help with decorations? What's going on tonight?"

"We can sit here and play video games for a while." Melina answers. "My parents honestly have the entire thing done. The time for everyone to get here was around 5-6 PM so we have some time to chill. Dinner's at 7, and then we get to watch Christmas movies until we all pass out."

"Sounds good," Tyler remarks. "Hopefully by then Scott will have his head out of his ass and we can have a good night."

Scotty looks over at him, startled and hurt, and Tyler narrows his bright blue eyes. "You forget that Jon and I went through the same thing. I'm not having you wait as long as we did to get help because that's shitty. Understand?"

"I'll think about it," Scotty mutters. "Just please drop it for now. I'm already going to get a mouthful from Marcel."

"Good, because he cares and so do the rest of us." Tyler turns back to Melina. "I'm guessing that Anthony's the one who brought the video games."

She smiles at the thought of her boyfriend. "Yeah, he did. He's the best."

Downstairs, the front door opens, and Anthony's loud cackle spills into the house. It's followed by Nogla's rambunctious laughter and Brock's giddy laugh. Melina listens closely and grins as she hears Brian and Kelly arguing with Jaclyn trying to keep the peace. 

Craig turns on the Switch and tosses Tyler a controller, already grinning as Mario Kart starts up. "Your ass is going DOWN!" Tyler shouts, making everyone laugh from downstairs. 

She can hear the hellos from her parents and the stomping on the stairs, and she counts to three before the door bursts open. "Sup idiots," Kelly grins. "I heard the Mario Kart theme song from downstairs." 

Tyler wordlessly tosses her another controller and she immediately sits down, pausing to take a look at Scotty. "Punch to the side?" She asks before pushing her long silver hair behind her shoulder. "Keep it iced for a few days and apply gentle pressure."

Scott opens his mouth and then closes it, nodding as he winces.

Kelly eyes him down and then turns back to pick Bowser as her character. Brian inhales as he spots the screen and at the same time, the other three say, "Hell no."

Brian pouts but he knows he's the King of Mario Kart; he's still in a constant battle with Nogla to be the best. The others don't have the heart to say that Brian is the luckier one since everyone tends to go for Daithi, but they all have their moments when they go after Brian.

Over the course of the next hour, everyone starts showing up and Melina is proud to hear the fabled joy of everyone in the same house together. Luke, Nogla, Marcel, and even Evan are the ones who hear it most often. Melina was proud to finally add her name (and house) to the list.

The guest bedroom gets filled up and the Christmas tree downstairs gets bombarded with presents. At some point, Melina's dad looks proud as he entertains everyone with ridiculous jokes and Melina's childhood stories that make Anthony grin.

It's going really well, and she's on top of the world. She's so excited for this. 

Eventually, dinner rolls around and everyone crowds in at the table. Ten people take up regular chairs while everyone else grabs a various assortment of chairs.

Melina spots her old Barbie chair, a beanbag, two small chairs stacked on each other, and a few significant others sitting either on each other or sharing a seat.

Honestly? It's pretty impressive, if Melina's being truthful. They've all managed to fit around the table.

Melina's mom sets down a giant turkey and her dad brings sides, and Melina clears her throat. "I just want to say thank you to everyone for being able to come to this Christmas dinner."

"Hell yeah!" Jon shouts from the end of the table, perched on the two chairs. Evan, sitting next to him (and sharing a spot with Tyler) on the beanbag, quietly cracks up before taking a sip of his drink.

The group snickers and Melina tries not to laugh. "Thank you, Jon. I'm proud I could be able to give you guys a good Christmas, as it's the last one for a few of us. We're all here, and that's pretty incredible. Thank you all!"

The applause echoes through the house and Melina's mom and dad beam in pride. Anthony grabs Melina's hand and kisses it gently, smiling as the food starts to get passed around.

"I think New Year's is gonna be with me at Nogla's house," Lui laughs, gesturing with a spoonful of mashed potatoes. "My pyrotechnics are going to be awesome! Evan, I know you wanna help, so you'll be with me."

Everyone turns in surprise at the junior, who pauses with a piece of chicken to his mouth. "You...you like messing with fire?" Lanai asks as Tyler roars with laughter next to him.

"It's kinda cool?" Evan confesses, and majority of the group howls in excitement. "I can't wait until you blow shit up next week!" Jon toasts with his drink and seems to forget that Melina's parents are _right there._

Melina nearly slams her head onto the table and tries not to groan as her parents laugh quietly. Of COURSE her friends would be ridiculous; why wouldn't they be, goddamn it?

The night just seems to go by in a blur. The theater crew gorges themselves on the food her parents make and plenty of laughter fills the house with joy. Melina tells stories of the crew and the hilarious things they've done, including the time Lanai didn't get the ruby slippers to Suni in time.

The lights had come back on and Suni didn't have her shoes, causing her to stare at the crowd in shock. By some miracle, Lui had smoke bombs on him, so he 'swooped' onto stage to Jaclyn as the Winged Monkey and smoked out the stage. 

The real miracle was how Suni put the shoes in the smoke and how the smoke alarm didn't go off. Everyone backstage had to fan it out as fast as they could so Suni could reappear with the ruby slippers. 

Lui had to rush offstage and Melina was nearly in tears; Kelly herself almost cracked up on stage, but luckily she recovered and continued with the show.

When it's all done, the crew goes upstairs while a few others (Jaclyn, Simone, and Brock) help with the dishes and Melina puts them away. "Your house is beautiful," Jaclyn compliments. "Are we going to open presents in the morning?"

"Yeah! Just like Christmas," Melina grins. She pushes her glasses further up her nose and smiles as she puts several plates away. "I've never seen the tree drowned in presents like this before! I'm honestly excited."

Simone gives her a bright smile and continues drying a glass. Brock hums a tune and the other three join in, laughing as Brock blushes. 

It's another fifteen minutes before Melina can join the squad upstairs. She sits in front of Anthony and he sets his head on hers, grinning as they watch Brian, Nogla, Tyler, and Chrissy battle it out on the Switch. 

(There's a small group that consists of Evan, Jon, and Luke that's crowded around Scotty, and she knows that he'll be okay for now.)

Melina spots Kelly gazing at Chrissy with lovesick eyes, a small smile gracing her features. Kelly freezes and glances over at Melina with wide eyes.

Nonverbal expressions are a beautiful thing. Melina raises an eyebrow and Kelly narrows her eyes. It's a battle between brown and gray, and Kelly lets out a small huff.

_So when are you going to ask her out?_

_When I want to._

_Tonight or tomorrow morning is a perfect opportunity y'know._

_...I'll think about it._

Melina grins and Kelly tries not to smile. On screen, Brian screeches in excitement while Daithi and Tyler scream so goddamn loud as Chrissy gets both of them with red shells. Brian sits proudly in first while Chrissy zooms into 2nd.

"FUCK THIS GAME!" Tyler roars, slamming his controller. Anthony cackles and Melina giggles, already breaking out into a yawn. Marcel looks over and laughs. "You getting tired?"

"A bit!" Melina confesses. "I'm pretty exhausted."

Suni yawns too, smiling as she says goodnight to the rest of them. "You can share my bed," Melina offers. "I don't mind!"

"Awesome!" Suni says happily. Melina kisses Anthony goodnight and heads with Suni to go to bed. 

The two lay there for a moment and Melina's falling asleep when Suni clears her throat. "Melina? Can I tell you something?"

"Of course," Melina murmurs. "What's up?"

Suni sighs and shuffles under the covers. "I think Craig and I were unofficially dating, but I know Tyler likes him and I think I'm starting to like Lanai."

"Well...Lanai does have a crush on you," Melina yawns. "I'm only saying that because no one knows what to do with you four, y'know? Talk to Craig about it. I have faith in you."

"Thanks, Melina." Suni says quietly. "I think we're better off as friends. He's one of my best friends from the first day I got here." 

"Have you guys kissed, if you don't mind me asking?" Melina asks. 

There's a pause. "...Yeah. Just a simple one around Thanksgiving. That's when I realized we should be friends."

"If he's a good friend, then he'll understand." Melina says firmly. "We'll get hot chocolate in the morning, okay?"

Suni laughs, and it's such a relieved noise that even Melina smiles. "Sounds good to me! Goodnight Melina."

"Goodnight Suni," Melina gazes up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling and traces patterns until she falls asleep, dreaming of a winter wonderland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: I'm honestly kinda exhausted so you can just imagine the presents everyone got each other. Just know that someone definitely got someone else a dildo. It happened. 
> 
> I'm gonna try and talk to someone I cut off over a year ago and apologize, it wasn't her fault and I'd like to be friends again. 
> 
> wish me luck!
> 
> (edit because I had this as a draft for I don't even know how long; in the time span I've been typing this, she wanted to be my friend again too and I nearly passed out because of how terrified/happy I was :'))


	21. party like the fourth of july (intermission four)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been FAR TOO LONG
> 
> I was on such a good streak with this story and then I paused it for 4 months oops
> 
> anyways
> 
> hopefully we back in this still
> 
> also this is the last intermission btw

Lui really doesn’t need a key to get into Nogla’s house. First off, he can pick the lock, and second, Daithi always leaves the second story windows unlocked. It’s pretty easy to sneak into his best friend’s house.

The harder part is dragging in all the supplies for New Year’s, but he’s doing his best, really! The fact that he’s one of the shortest in the group doesn’t help. 

Jaclyn finds him perched on the roof and holding onto a box of sparklers. “You know,” her voice startles him, “you could’ve just opened the front door and dragged the boxes in.”

“That’s the loser’s way,” he calls back as he successfully tugs the box inside the room. Lui heads out the window and parkours his way down, grinning at Jaclyn. “Where’s the BFF?”

Her eyes glimmer with amusement as she heads to the front door and opens it with her spare key. “I suspect he’s stuck in traffic and angrily cursing.”

“Fair enough!”

New Year’s was a magical night. It was the time that Lui could show off his skills and be the best pyrotechnic he could be. He was also super excited from the fact that _Evan Fong_ was going to help him with the fire. Who knew that the hockey dude from icy cold Canada loved flames?

It's not long before Nogla indeed shows up with Tyler and Evan in the backseat of his car. Lui's digging a fire pit in his backyard, doing his best to not let the chilly air freeze his fingers to the shovel he's using. The crew had all agreed that they would stay somewhere close before heading over to Nogla's, something about his dogs being annoying as shit?

Joe and Tony loved Lui, he definitely knew that, and he knew that Nogla was pissed every time they listened to the sophomore instead of the senior. It made for some pretty great videos to send in the group chats.

Evan lets out a delighted noise as he sets down a few cans of gasoline. Tyler pulls out a lighter and flicks it on, studying the flame before capping it. "So what do you need us to help with, Lui?"

"Marcel and Anthony went to buy fireworks." Jaclyn answers for the sophomore. "Can one of you go with Luke to get bulk?"

"That'll be me," Tyler responds. "Where's the asshole at?"

"Fuck off!" Luke hollers from the sliding door, leaning against the glass as Jon pokes his head out. "Get your ass over here bitch, we got fireworks to buy."

Lui waves at the two seniors and smiles when Delirious makes his way over to him. Even hunched, Jon towers over Lui, and the sophomore has to look up just to meet his baby blue eyes. "Is there anything you need me to do?" He asks, grimacing as his voice cracks per usual.

Lui beams at him. "How good are you at getting drinks?"

Jon puffs out his chest. "They don't call me H2O for nothing! I know Nogla already has a shitload of alcoholic drinks in his fridge so I'll bring back some water and soda. Sound good?"

"Yes please!" The sophomore answers, turning back and jumping as Evan appears in front of him. "Shit dude!" He exclaims, eyes going wide. "You scared the fuck out of me!"

"Sorry," Evan grins, not really apologetic. "I'm gonna help you dig the pit."

Lui nods his thanks and the two resume, stabbing the earth with their shovels as the fire pit gets deeper. Nogla finally comes outside and angrily yells as Joe and Tony go barreling towards Lui, barking excitedly. 

"Hey guys!" Lui coos at them as Evan laughs. The latter had a love for cats more, but still genuinely enjoyed the presence of dogs. He reaches down for a quick second to pet them before continuing his shovel work. 

Nogla brings some logs to get the fire started, Evan dumps the gasoline, and Lui stands back as he grabs a match, lights it, and tosses it into the pit. The fire glows a vibrant orange-yellow, flickering and sparking into the darkening sky. 

Luke and Tyler's trucks arrive and Lui watches as Craig stumbles out, arms piled with a whole bunch of fireworks. Marcel's car pulls into the driveway with Simone and Chrissy and Anthony's car with Melina not far behind.

Piles of fireworks start to get dumped in Nogla's backyard. Lui hurries over to inspect them and grins, eyes lighting up as he spots some mega ones. "These are so beautiful!" He whispers, admiring the literal bombs in his hands. He just has to set them up at the perfect time so they'd light up the night sky.

Lui Calibre knew he had set his mark on the school. His teachers were surprised that he was best friends with a lot of seniors and juniors; he was proud of his theater crew and knew he still had a few more years left for him. His sophomore class consisted of Melina, Scotty, and John, and they were really awesome friends to have. 

One of his many group chats buzzes and he double checks it as fast as he can. 

sophomores 

Scotty: so uh quick question 

Scotty: I'm kinda scared about jumping out of my window since the front door is locked 

Scotty: how the fuck do I get out of here 

Lui: I could call Brock and get him and Brian to pick you up if you'd like! 

Scotty: dude you're the best thank you I totally forgot about that 

Melina: I just asked Chrissy about sneaking out and she said to make sure that your door is locked and then pack a quick bag. I've got a bad feeling about what'll happen if you get caught returning. 

Scotty: I can just ask marcel to keep me at this house I think his parents like me 

Lui: I'm sure if you ask Marcel, he and his parents will gladly take you in. We know you've been thinking about it. 

Scotty: aw fuck am I rlly that obvious 

Melina: Yep. Especially with Jon/Evan and Chrissy/Simone, the crew is starting to take each other in and I know it's something you want. Just ask him dude, I'm sure he'll say yes. 

Besides, Lui can remember the conversation that Marcel had at Thanksgiving; he was already thinking about taking Scott in since he was upset at what was going on with him. The senior declared that he was gonna be Scotty's guardian or have his parents do it, since they didn't mind and cared for the sophomore as well.

Scotty taken care of, Lui returns to find Nogla yelling as food starts to get set up in one of his backyard sheds. Thankfully the sophomore had seen this coming; he had Marcel drive him over after Christmas to break into Nogla's house and remove all the junk from the shed. Tables were placed inside with tablecloth so Lui didn't have to set it up later, and it was paying off well. No one had to move anything aside and the food area was getting set up quickly. 

Chrissy comes carrying in a Crockpot and Lui tries not to laugh. "What's this for?" He asks, eyebrows raised as the senior grins. "I'm making hot dogs! Or whatever gets made in Crockpots, hell if I know." She shrugs, taking a quick glance outside. 

Suddenly, she leans down in his face and he has to blink twice to register what's going on. "Can I ask a favor?" Chrissy asks, eyes wide and pleading. 

Lui can already read her mind. "Yeah, something to do with Kelly?"

The senior's cheeks darken and she grins. "Yep. Thinkin' about asking her out tonight. Again. Could you possibly do something for that?"

The sophomore taps his cheek thoughtfully. "I think I can whip up some sparklers or a firework to spell out her name...just give me time, okay? I'll have it done in a bit."

The smile he receives says it all as Chrissy gratefully walks past him and sets down the Crockpot on the table. Lui grins and heads outside, going over to the stash of fireworks to try and see what he can do for Chrissy. 

His beloved friends know he's about to work his magic so they leave him be and finish setting up at Nogla's. Around him, the sky starts to get dark and sparklers light up. He concentrates on the colors, the fireworks that're coating his hands, and starts to finish it. 

"GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!" Nogla hollers as the squad makes their way over to the tall senior. Lui attempts to wipe his hands clean of soot and stands next to Jon, noticing the way that Evan's hand slips inside Jon's jacket. The latter smiles at him warmly and Evan squeezes his hand, leaning into his embrace.

"It's already gettin' late as shite and I just wanna say it's not my fault if ye don't eat." Nogla huffs to the laughter of everyone. The group seems to be paired up so Lui slips in next to Luke, the senior grinning at him. "It's already 10:30 dude, are you gonna start digging into the pile?" Luke asks.

Lui gives a quick shrug. "Working on something for Chrissy before I join in on the fun. I think it's finished!" 

"That's good!" Luke claps him on the back. "Go to Evan if you want to light some shit up. We have our reckless friends about to blow holes in their shirts or something and it's gonna be great."

Lui lets out a high-pitched laugh at the thought and joins Evan on the street, watching as he lights a Roman candle for Tyler. The junior yells "KOBE" and the candle shoots up some fireworks into the sky to the laughter of everyone surrounding him, including Evan, Craig, Kelly, Jon, and Smitty.

"Hand one over!" The sophomore calls out. Smitty immediately gives him a smoke bomb and a sparkler and eagerly lights them up. John comes jogging over with several hot dogs juggled on his plate. "Thanks John!" Smitt says happily, reaching over to grab one. 

John gives him an incredulous look and sighs. "Smitty, I swear on my mother's life, one day I'm gonna choke you to death. That was my hot dog. Did you ever consider that I got all of them for myself?"

To Lui's amusement, Smitty winks and says, "I bet you'd like that huh? Can't kinkshame me, fucker," before biting into the hot dog. Apparently the freshman fails to see his best friend's cheeks burn a bright red before he turns away and coughs. 

There's so many potential couples here tonight? Holy shit. Evan and Jon still weren't officially together, there's still the whole fiasco with Tyler, Craig, Suni, and Lanai, and it looked like John had a crush on Smitty.

"Lui!" Melina yells from her chair near the fire. Anthony's curled up next to her and taking a nap? What the fuck? Talent. "When do you need us to help you set up the fireworks?"

"In about another hour!" He hollers back. "11:30 seems good so we have time!" 

She nods to confirm it and Lui spends the next hour with his best friends and family. Various smoke bombs are thrown into the street and giant ass fireworks explode into the sky. Music blasts, the fire burns bright, and Lui cheers and sings at the top of his lungs.

The hour goes by so much faster than they anticipated. Luke, Melina, Suni, Ryan, and Scotty help assist Lui with setting out the mega bombs for midnight. He sets them up, grabs his favorite lighter, and watches the countdown. As it continues on, he makes sure the stems of the fireworks are visible as midnight counts down.

The couples join together and Lui watches as most of them pair up. Scotty, Suni, Luke, and Lanai stay near each other as Craig nears Tyler. 

11:58. Evan takes Jon's hand again. Anthony and Melina are already cuddling. Nogla's cupping Jaclyn's face and murmuring into her ear. 

11:59. Brian's already dipping Brock into a deep kiss. Marcel presses a kiss to Simone's forehead and then cheeks. Chrissy takes Kelly's hands and starts talking to her, smiling as Kelly's eyes go huge and she gasps.

12:00 AM. 

Lui hurries to light the stems and Chrissy points upwards; to everyone's delight and joy,  Kelly  glows in the sky in a giant heart. Kelly tears up and nods immediately to Chrissy's proposal. 

The senior presses her lips to the junior and they become wrapped up in their own little world. Lui wolf-whistles and gets everyone else to join in. 

Craig gives a quick kiss to Tyler's cheek before hurrying off to light more fireworks with Evan, leaving the junior speechless as he stares after Craig. 

Someone appears next to Lui; it's Suni, with her hair wrapped in a bun. She adjusts her glasses before smiling at him. "Hi Lui. Doing okay?"

"Yeah! I'm just witnessing our group dissolve into couples." He gestures to the crowd before him and she laughs. "Fair enough!"

"Just wondering, but are you and Craig together?" Lui asks, smiling politely at her. "It just looks a bit strange. We all thought it was going to happen, y'know?"

Suni laughs again. "Yeah, we thought so too. We dated in secret for a bit but decided we were better off as friends. Besides, I think Tyler has his eye on Craig, and I'm starting to have feelings for Lanai. It's just...I'm not sure. Right now I just want to have fun in theater and see what happens from there."

"I can respect that," Lui admires. He grabs an unopened can of soda from a nearby chair and cracks it open, offering it to the upperclassman. "You've definitely earned this, Suni."

She gives him a grateful smile and a hug. "Thanks dude. I'll talk to you later!"

Back out on the street, Anthony hands Suni a sparkler and she laughs as she lights it. Lui looks out over his friends and grins. 

In a few hours, the entire group will probably be passed out in various places all over Nogla's house. Joe and Tony are probably going to shit everywhere in the backyard and there's going to be a lot of fireworks burnt out in the street. They're going to wake up tomorrow in various states of being hungover and/or completely exhausted. 

Lui will probably sleep in and Simone along with Luke are probably going to take care of them, and it's going to be a good day. He just knows it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in the time span since I've last updated I graduated high school and I'm off to college soon lmao
> 
> also new year's is my favorite holiday! I only care for a few of them tbh and new year's is at the top of the list.
> 
> I've got less than a month left till my 18th bday. holy shit.


	22. a new beginning of sorts (act two scene one)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> college...is soon.
> 
> I'm very excited.
> 
> also happy 2 year anniversary of me moving away from my abusive mom and happy 1 month to an old friend of mine who actually ran away from her mom and now lives with her dad and is very happy now. love ya Lexi.

Scotty hates holidays. 

It's nothing against the actual event, honestly, it's just the fact that he's probably going to be stuck with his parents and has limited contact with his friends. His phone would be monitored and all hangouts would be watched. 

He constantly cleans, does his best to stay out of his mom and dad's way, and is so grateful for his friends.

He's really considering moving in with Marcel.

After New Year's, he's grounded and decked in the cheek. A bruise forms and of course the traditional ice pack goes on. Holidays mean he's at home instead of being with the people that care about him so fucking much. It's not much better when his bitch ass parents declare that the theater is 'too much of a hassle on his grades' and 'hanging out with the fucking weirdos is influencing his social life'.

First off, his grades are much higher due to the theater crew always willing to tutor him, and he's a theater kid. Of COURSE it's helped him to be social. But, his parents' word is law, and he just has to wait for Monday to roll around so he can see his family at the school.

Monday morning, Scotty jumps out of bed super early and tries to remember who's awake at this hour. 3/4 of the crew would be dead asleep in their beds, but maybe...

He's already dialing a number, hands shaking as he hopes the junior will pick up. There's a pause and then a half-asleep, _"Hello?"_

"Evan?" Scott pleads, doing his best to ignore the clock that says 6 am. "I'm so sorry for bothering you right now but I'm going to freak out if I stay here any longer. Can I please go with you today?"

There's a lot of shuffling on the other line and Scotty can hear Jonathan talking, his words slurring together and groggy before snoring again. A door closes slowly and then Evan says, _"Of course dude. I'll be at your house in about ten minutes. I'll take you back to mine, my mom's gonna make chocolate chip pancakes."_

At the mention of food, Scotty's stomach growls and he breathes a sigh of relief. "I owe you big time, Ev."

 _"Don't worry about it!"_ Comes the cheerful reply. Another door shuts and Scott hears an engine start. _"Be there soon!"_

As the sophomore says his goodbyes and hangs up, he exhales and tries not to cry as he grabs his backpack. He's really considering asking Marcel for help, but...he doesn't know whether or not he's finally reached it. 

His breaking point. 

As Scotty creeps downstairs with his backpack and duffle bag, a light flicks on, and he stares into the furious eyes of his mother, who's sitting on the couch waiting for him. _Son of a bitch._

"Sneaking out again?" She asks idly. "To hang out with your stupid fucking friends who don't care about you?"

Scotty thinks of Marcel's laugh and Simone's giggles and Evan's kind smile and the endless support from Tyler, Chrissy, Jon, and Brian, and he shakes his head. "They care about me."

"What?" Scott's mom rises to her feet and makes her way over. Her presence is enough for him to cower, and he automatically raises his arms on instinct to block any blows. 

She smacks his arms away and growls when they rise up again. "Put your goddamn arms down so I can smack you, you piece of shit."

"No," Scott says, eyes wide as a fear grips his chest. "Please don't."

"Don't fucking beg me!" His mom shouts, eyes flashing with anger as she goes for a strike. "You were always selfish, you never cared about this family! Only yourself! You fucking bitch!"

And that's when it hits. A breaking point. 

There's no triumph, there's no choirs singing or anything like that, it's just...quiet. It's a very quiet acceptance that _I don't deserve this shit_ and you want to better your life. Scott swallows and suddenly realizes that he's shaking like crazy but all of his fear has vanished into dry apathy. 

"I do care about myself," he says, gripping his arms. "I want to be happy. Being here makes me hate myself."

His mom literally snarls and goes in for a slap and he dodges. "I'm leaving, Mom. Tell Dad when he gets home from work or the bar or whatever."

"What the FUCK ARE YOU DOING, YOU SHITHEAD!" Scott's mom lunges for him. After too many years of practice, Scotty ducks and dances his way out of his mom's talons. He makes his way to the front door and throws it open, thanking the universe as he spots Evan's car turning the corner. 

"UNLOCK THE DOOR!" Scott screeches as he goes running after the car. In the driver's seat, Evan's eyes go huge as he spots Scott's mom rushing after him. He quickly unlocks the door, shoves it open, and starts driving again as Scotty throws his bags inside. With one hand on the wheel, Evan throws the bags into the backseat and holds a hand out for Scotty.

The sophomore, running after the car, grips it like a lifeline and gets hauled into the car, shaking as he shuts the door and Evan locks it. "Holy shit."

"What the fuck happened?!" Evan asks, eyes still wide as he exits Scotty's neighborhood. His mom has thankfully given up going after him and just flips them the middle finger as Evan and Scotty leave. "I've never seen her chase you out of the house like that."

Scott's nerves are still shot as he says, "She's kicked me out before, but this time I'm done. I'm really done. I'm gonna ask Marcel and his parents to be my guardians."

At that, the junior gives him a bright smile, and he realizes that the same thing happened with Jon. The senior had gotten a lot of sleep and food back into his body and he didn't look like he was going to die any day now. It was a very welcoming relief to everyone else.

"You can talk to Marcel when we get to school," Evan promises as he turns into his driveway. "But right now you look like a twig and my mom's going to try and fatten you up. If you can't finish it, take it to go."

Scotty stifles a laugh at the thought that the Fongs have their own to-go boxes, and shit, considering how awesome they were, they probably did. He gets out of the car and only takes his duffle bag, waiting patiently as Evan unlocks the front door and ushers him in.

Inside, he spots Evan's parents chatting as they make breakfast. As Evan's dad turns and spots the sophomore, his face lights up. "Good morning! You're the one Evan went to get, yes?"

Scotty swallows. "Yes, that's me. Hi Mr. Fong, it's nice to see you again. It's been a long time."

Evan's dad studies his face for a moment and then Evan's mom greets him. "Hello sweetheart! I'm almost done with these pancakes. Evan, can you wake up Jon?"

The junior snorts as he makes his way upstairs. "He would've killed me by now if he didn't know that pancakes were his reward." He vanishes to his room and Evan's mom looks back at Scotty. "Are you doing okay?" She asks carefully. "If you're not able to talk about it, I understand, but just know that we're here for you."

Scotty smiles at that. "Thank you. I'm actually going to ask Marcel if—"

The stomps on the stairs are proof that it's Jon coming down. He's wearing his infamous blue hoodie and he's a yawning mess, clearly struggling to stay awake. When he catches sight of Scotty, Jon merely raises an eyebrow. 

They're both silent for a few moments. Scott knows that he's reading his body language and expressions; not as good as Kelly can, but fuck, Jon's pretty good at it too.

Jon's eyes narrow and then go huge, Evan's parents looking at each other in surprise. "Wait a sec. WAIT A SEC. Did...did you...?"

Scotty smiles and feels the tears well up in his eyes. "Yeah."

Delirious gasps out loud and his grin is so big it reminds him of the Cheshire Cat. "With Marcel...?"

"Yep."

Jon runs at him screaming and collides with the sophomore, both sobbing into each other's shoulders. "I'm so fucking proud of you," Delly cries, squeezing Scotty to death. "Oh my god, dude, OH MY SHIT. You did it!! You did it!"

Evan heads downstairs to find the two idiots crying into each other. He tries not to smile and heads over to gently squeeze Scott's shoulder and kiss the top of Jon's head, heading over to his parents. "What happened?" Evan's dad whispers, still looking at the other two. 

The junior shrugs. "Today was Scotty's final stand against his mom. He bailed for good. He got out of that house and now he's going to Marcel's parents for guardianship." 

Evan's mom gasps and her hand flies up to her mouth, tears trickling down her cheeks. "And Jon recognized it from the look on his face?"

"Yeah." Evan gives the senior a loving glance before looking back at his parents. "They speak the same language. Jon used to be in the same position and now they're free." He wipes away his own tears from the corners of his eyes and grins. "According to Jon, it's a very...relieving experience. Scott's probably going to break down soon from the realization."

Evan's dad clears his throat. "Son, I think he already is."

Sure enough, Scotty's sobbing his eyes out into Jon's hoodie. "I can't believe I did that," he cries, bunching up the fabric in his hand. "I—I really left her, I ran away, I—"

"Shush." Delirious says firmly. "You had to do what you had to do. I'm very proud of you, okay? We all are. Let's eat some goddamn pancakes and then go tell the others when we get to school."

The sophomore nods and heads to the table with the rest of them. Evan's parents are looking at him with pride and shit man, it's a bit overwhelming. "Here you go, Scott." Evan's mom gives him three giant pancakes with chocolate chips. "Syrup's on the table, and drinks are in the fridge. Eat up!"

Scotty eats until he's stuffed, and he's got one last pancake so he packs it up. The time to leave for school arrives and Evan waves goodbye to his parents, dragging both Jon and Scotty to his car. They head off to school with music blasting and Evan parks in the lot, humming excitedly as Jon turns down the radio. "Do you wanna tell them?" The senior asks, smirking as a bolt of lightning shoots through Scott. 

There's still a bit of worry about his parents but Scotty nods determinedly, getting out of the car and heading to the PAC with everyone else. Jon and Evan give their silent support as Scotty walks on, a certain skip in his step as they enter the building and walk to the auditorium. 

On stage, Marcel's barking orders while Smitty and Ryan whirl by with papers in their hands and mics clipped onto their belts. Chrissy emerges from backstage and rushes over to Lanai, urgently saying something to her. The junior nods and runs backstage with her, presumably to the workshop. 

"Oh thank god!" Marcel breathes out in relief as he spots the three. "Evan, Jon, I need you two to go with Lanai and drag out platforms of wood. They gave us the list for the musical and we have to perform it in _three and a half weeks."_

"Oh, fuck." Jon mutters under his breath. Evan straightens up and gives their SM a thumbs up. "Stress and deadlines bring the best out of theater kids, Marcel! What play is it?"

Marcel groans and slaps a hand to his face. "Once Upon A Mattress."

Scotty coughs to hide his laugh. "Isn't that just the Princess and the Pea with more music and more characters?"

"Exactly, and McQuaid told me this FIRST THING IN THE MORNING and I'm fucking EXHAUSTED!" Marcel shouts, looking for something to throw. Upstairs in the sound booth, the mic turns on and they all turn to Simone, who's laughing at her boyfriend and the crew. 

_"Marcel, please refrain from ripping up the scripts because we really do need those."_ She giggles, blowing him a kiss. 

The SM wilts and grudgingly blows a kiss back. "Fine. Only because I love you."

"Do we already have a cast?" Scotty asks, blinking as Smitty suddenly appears in front of him with a stack of papers. The word _'Minstrel'_ is highlighted and Smitty taps it. "You'll be mostly with the Jester and the King, which is Anthony and Tyler in that order, and you have a few scenes with Larken and maybe the Wizard, and those are Jaclyn and Lui. You also gotta sing." Smitty says immediately, handing it to him before vanishing into the bustle of backstage. 

Jon's hand squeezes his shoulder. "Do you wanna tell him?" He asks softly. Evan's already run off into the workshop with Lanai. Scotty looks up at his best friend, smile slowly growing. "Yeah."

He sets down his script on a chair and hoists himself on stage. Marcel's talking to Chrissy backstage and when he sees Scott approaching, his eyes widen and then narrow. The sophomore barely gets a word out before his cheek gets cupped. "Did your mom do this?" Marcel whispers.

Fuck, the bruise. It's already fading, but it's still evident enough that he could spot it. Scotty nods and Marcel curses angrily. "It's okay though!" Scott reassures him. 

"And why is that?" Marcel spits, fury radiating in his eyes. "What could POSSIBLY make this better?!"

Scott can see Jon's thumbs up from the floor and he straightens his pose. A confidence he's never felt before calms his nerves and settles into his bones, and he knows he's doing the right thing. "I'm out, Marcel. I ran out this morning. Evan picked me up. I'm _done."_

Marcel stares at him in shock and then it registers. "You...you're out?"

"For good," Scotty says firmly. "I'd like to take you up on that offer now."

A slow smile spreads over Marcel's face and then he's yelling at the top of his lungs, wrapping Scotty in a hug and twirling around. "OH MY FUCKING GOD!" He's howling to anyone nearby. "YOU DID IT!"

"What the fuck happened?" Craig makes his way over to Jon with Tyler by his side. "What'd Scott do?" Next to them, Brian and Brock also peer up at the very excited sophomore and crying senior. 

"Wait a fucking second," Brian gasps, looking at Tyler with wide eyes. The two juniors realize it at the exact same time and start screeching as they rush the stage. Scotty gets swarmed and laughs with tears in his eyes as his family shouts with joy.

* * *

He goes through the whole school day with something fluttering in his heart. He reads the script during a class period where they're not doing anything, and spends lunch celebrating at a fast food restaurant with his best friends. It's just...very exciting. A new chapter of Scott's life had started. 

After school, they crowd in the PAC and listen to Marcel bitch about their deadlines while Chrissy quietly organizes everyone. "Winnifred, Dauntless," she turns to Suni and Brian, "you have the most lines with Aggravain and Harry right behind. Since a lot of scenes happen with you guys, practice those and get the timing down."

"Should I have a really stupid posh accent like Craig's?" Brian asks, ignoring the middle finger thrown at him. 

Chrissy does her best not to laugh. "Yeah, actually. That'd be pretty cool. Suni, your character is literally from a swamp and you're not posh at all. Kelly, we need the Queen to be a pissy bitch about everything."

"That's what I'm best at," Kelly shrugs, grinning as her girlfriend sighs in exasperation. Next to Kelly, Tyler groans angrily at his script. "So I don't talk the entire goddamn play?!" 

"You do, at the very end." Brian snickers. "It's when I finally get to shut Kelly up and you can speak." 

"I ONLY HAVE A SCENE OR TWO, BRIAN!"

"Sucks to suck, bitch."

"Scotty," Chrissy says, turning to the sophomore. "You have to sing. See if you can get Smitty or Nogla to help you on those lines, okay?"

"Roger that!" He says cheerfully.

They're all given their roles and the tasks they have to do. The set the techies have to build is...well...

"Dude, WHAT." Luke stares down at the sketch courtesy of Evan. "You have to build a FUCKING CASTLE?!"

"Well parts of it have to turn and we have to build genuine stairs," Lanai explains as Jon stares down in horror. "We also need a second story for a lot of scenes with you, Jaclyn, and Suni. It's gonna be difficult as fuck but I think it's gonna be amazing when we finish."

"Shit," Jon mutters. "They better fucking pay me when this is all over."

At the end of the day and they're all dismissed to go home, Scotty automatically heads out to the parking lot when Marcel clears his throat. "Dude."

Scotty's eyes widen; he was going home with Marcel now. Oh fuck. "Oh."

He gets into Marcel's car, setting his duffle bag and backpack in. Next to them, Simone and Chrissy wave in their car. "We're gonna grab dinner with them first," Marcel says. "And I let my parents know you'd be staying with us for the rest of the school year."

"And...?" Scotty whispers. 

Marcel laughs loudly. "They already had the guest bedroom ready, idiot. Now c'mon, let's get some food."

The tears well in his eyes again and Scott wipes them away, grinning as he relaxes in the passenger seat. _Free, free from her, free from my old life._

The senior leans over to squeeze his hand, and Scotty squeezes back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some personal stuff in this chapter so I can get my groove going for the musical. weird how that works right? 
> 
> anyways. orientation is soon and I'm so hyped to go see campus and meet friends. I've never met any of them yet and a few are headed to my orientation dates and they want to hang out, which is super cool tbh.


	23. castle (act two scene two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my 18th birthday was two days ago! wowzers. I'm an adult now.
> 
> as you can see, I have finally put down the chapter that this story will end on!! took me a while to figure it out lol.

Tyler's fucking PISSED. 

First off, he had to be a Cowardly Lion, and SECOND OFF, now he was cast as a silent King who doesn't even talk until the end of the goddamn show! 

He storms backstage, makes his way to Jon, and crosses his arms while the other crew members whirl around him with planks of wood in their arms. "Assign me something," he snaps, and Jon's eyes light up in excitement and surprise. "Pissed about the role?" The senior asks sympathetically, and Tyler snarls. 

"I'm NOT A SILENT PERSON!" Tyler angrily throws a paintbrush across the workshop. Lanai, busy measuring a wooden platform, ducks on instinct as the brush clatters against the wall. "Why the fuck did they give me this?!"

Jon squints at him, then sighs and leads him out of the workshop. "Smitty's working on the castle, you wanna work with that for now? Your main group to stay with is Scotty and Anthony since they're the Minstrel and Jester, okay? Kelly's the Queen and you'll be hanging out with her as well." 

Tyler takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, nodding. "Okay. Cool. Thanks. Where's Craig?"

Delirious does his best not to snicker as he points out of the auditorium. "Choir room. He's the Nightingale, so Nogla's doing his best to help him fix his voice."

The junior storms off, anger practically steaming out of his ears. A quick glance at his phone shows it's only 5 PM; they wouldn't be out of school till 6:30. He hurries out of the theater area and past the other kids of the PAC. The dancers look at him curiously and a few band kids whisper as Tyler makes his way to the choir room. The choir kids look at him but don't stop Tyler as he heads on over to one of the sound proof rooms and peers in. 

Inside one of them, Nogla's standing with Craig and they're both reaching a pitch that Tyler didn't know was capable by the Irishman. Craig does his best, but his voice cracks, and he looks at Daithi bashfully. He mouths something and Nogla bursts out laughing, eyes crinkling at the edges. 

Tyler knows he's an asshole but just for this one time, he won't be. He knocks on the door instead of barging in and the two look up at him in surprise. Nogla reaches for the handle first, opening the door and beckoning him in. "Hey dude!" He says happily. "Come to hear Craig sing like an angel?"

"Shut the fuck up," Mini says with no venom in his voice. "I'm not very good Ty, but I'm doing my best!" 

Tyler takes a second to look at him. His best friend and crush still has those hazel eyes he loves to stare at, and his hair's a shade of lilac now. Somewhere in his mind, a quiet voice reminds him to ask the Brit out before Valentine's Day hit. _You're losing your chance,_ the voice hums, and a mental middle finger is thrown. 

"I'm sure you are, dipshit," Tyler says instead, and reaches out to ruffle Craig's hair. "Are you a high or low voice?" 

Nogla snorts. "You mean an alto or soprano. I'm pretty sure he's an alto, which is why I can't have Smitty teaching him. I dabble in both so I'm trying to see how high his voice can go."

Craig grumbles. "I can go very high but not in a singing manner. Other than that, my voice cracks. What the fuck am I going to sing while I'm trapped in a fucking cage?"

The words don't register until Tyler's blinking in surprise. "You're gonna be in a cage? What the fuck?"

Daithi shrugs and stretches out on his chair in the room. "Nightingale is his main role, but he's being an extra in the crowd pretty much the whole show. The Nightingale is supposed to have a golden cage or some shit but honestly, none of us feel like spray painting a giant goddamn cage so it's just gonna be regular bars. Mini has to be in the cage to sing to Suni. It's gonna be fuckin' hilarious."

Tyler manages to grin at the thought and then looks back at Craig. "Wanna help me with parts of the castle? I need a stress reliever." 

Mini glances at Nogla, who laughs and tilts back in his chair. "Go ahead dude. You're done for the day."

The two juniors give waves to the senior and head out. Tyler ignores the snickers and coos from the choir kids as they watch the two leave, someone even catcalling, "Ask him out already!"

Craig seems to not have heard it as he smiles up at Tyler. "You alright? I know when you're upset, dude, what's going on?"

Wildcat manages to grunt as they return to the auditorium. On stage, Evan and Jon's respective red and blue jacket/hoodie are discarded on the floor. The skeleton of the castle seems to be coming together and at the base of the stairs, Evan's drilling the last platform to the rest of them. He wipes his brow after a second and then hollers, "JON!"

The senior appears on the second story of the castle, unaffected as he's standing on mere wood and scaffolding. "Sup?"

Craig's jaw has dropped and Tyler's just staring up in shock. "What the fuck?"

"Like what you see?" Evan says proudly, gesturing to the castle. "Tyler, give us a performance at the top! You're also the tallest out of the group and I wanna make sure that Luke, Suni, and Jaclyn can easily move around up there. Suni has to fall off the castle and the other two have to sing and dance and move, so it'd be better for a test run." 

Tyler narrows his eyes. "So when I break my arm, you're gonna be the first to sign my cast and not give me the King role right?" 

Evan rolls his eyes with a smile. "I'm your best friend dude, of course I'll be the first! Also, you're the King because it fit you the best. I know you're pissed about the whole 'silent' thing but you have a musical number with Anthony and Scotty! Actually you have a few, and it'll be fun okay? The other roles don't fit you very well. Do you trust me on that?"

The worst thing is, of course Tyler trusts him. His fire-loving and prankster best friend is someone he trusts with his life. Tyler sighs and nods, the corner of his lip quirking up as Evan cheers and rushes at him. 

Craig steps back on instinct as Tyler catches the other junior, the latter two laughing as Tyler lifts Evan up with no hesitation. "Fine," he says affectionately, "just for your dumb ass."

From the top of the castle, Jon watches with a smirk as he walks out to the middle of the walkway. He lifts his arms up and lets himself fall backwards, vanishing from sight as Craig shrieks. "DELIRIOUS WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Backstage, they can hear Jon and Lanai cracking up and the three rush to the front of the castle. Tyler lets Evan down and hurries up the wooden stairs, pausing as they creak under his weight. "You're fine!" Evan yells from below him. "The structure's stronger than you think!"

Tyler just huffs and continues up, stepping onto the second floor and rushing to where Jon fell. As he peers over, he spots a mattress that's supported by more scaffolding and he stares in shock at the senior that's sprawled on it. "Sup," Delirious winks at him. Next to him on the floor, Lanai's waving. 

"You son of a bitch," Tyler says with no venom. He sighs and just gives a thumbs up to Lanai and then to the group that's waiting for him. "The asshole's alright," Tyler grumbles. "Whatever."

Evan has a very strange look on his face. He raises an eyebrow at Tyler, then quietly gestures to the castle. There's a crown and cape residing on the floor right next to Tyler...as if it was there on purpose...

The junior stares down at his best friend and leans down to grab the clothing. Taped to the crown is a simple note in scrawly handwriting; that BITCH. 

ask him out!! do something regal 'n shit, you're the king and this is your kingdom. I better see you two head out on valentine's day, okay? you're welcome! <3 

Tyler curses under his breath and closes his eyes, thinking of his life. Honestly, this is a pretty good moment for him. Tyler had no clue how he was going to ask his dear beloved crush out but Evan pretty much forced this one on him, since he knew the taller boy well and figured he'd chicken out. Evan's a phenomenal best friend but goddamn it he's too cheeky for his own good. 

With golden crown and crimson cape, Tyler stands back up to Craig's gasp and Evan's cheer. "I am King Tyler, and this is my kingdom!" He hollers as he stands on top of the castle. From his view, he can see the sound booth, and Marcel, Simone, Nogla, and McQuaid are staring at him in shock.

(Inside the booth, Simone realizes what's going on as she did the same for Marcel but with a role reversal. "Finally!" She whispers, and Marcel looks over at his girlfriend in surprise.)

Craig looks baffled. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Fear and adrenaline. That's all Tyler's running on, as well as affection, so he needs to say this before it runs out. "On this stage, I'm King Tyler, or Sextimus or whatever the fuck his name is, but away from here I'm just Tyler Wine. I had a shit childhood and then I grew up and met you assholes."

Evan lets out a loud whoop and Craig just blinks. 

Tyler swallows and continues. "I had the absolute privilege of being able to hang out with all of you guys and then shit changed for me. I realized that Craig Thompson had a fucking amazing smile and his laugh is so goddamn obnoxious but it's so him, y'know? His eyes are such a weird hazel color but they're beautiful and I wouldn't change a goddamn thing about him. Even with his eccentric hair colors."

Mini's wide-eyed and has a hand over his mouth, choking on a few tears. "Tyler..."

A few more theater and tech kids have crowded at the bottom of the stage, and Suni gazes up at the loud ass junior. Her smile is fond and she knows that Craig will say yes. 

"I've found home in you, and I really don't want you to go." Tyler looks Craig right in the eye. There's a moment where they realize that everything will change after this and they both know it'll be a good change. 

"I've fallen for you, Mini. Will you go out with me?" Tyler asks. 

Before Craig can even respond, Tyler lifts his arms up and topples off the castle. 

There's a lot of screeching and laughter; the theater kids that have no idea there's a mattress down there are pretty much freaking out while the few techies are laughing to tears. "Oh my fucking god," Smitty's choking as he's curled around Kyroz. "He's so fucking extra, dude. What the fuck."

John can't even respond since he's in the process of wheezing his lungs out. 

Craig screams and runs up the stairs, heart in his throat as he frantically looks over the edge. On the mattress, Delirious is in tears from laughing too hard and Tyler's laying next to him with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face and that son of a bitch Craig's gonna fucking kill him—

"So is that a yes?" Tyler asks, and then laughs even harder as Craig sits down on the floor and hops down to land on the mattress. Jon finally moves out of the way and watches as Craig cries a bit out of shock and relief. "You dumbass!" The Brit yells as Tyler wraps his arms around Craig's waist. "I was genuinely worried!"

"I was too, I didn't check to see if I was gonna land here." Tyler grins. "Kinda hoped that I'd land either here or on Delirious."

Mini just holds onto the taller boy and breathes out, eyes fluttering shut as he nods. "It's a yes, by the way. I'll go out with you."

Above the two, Evan peers over. "You guys okay?" He hollers. "Did he say yes?"

"Yeah he did!" Tyler yells back. "Also, fuck you! I was a few seconds away from having a heart attack!"

"You're welcome!" The Canadian turns to the crowd assembled and gives them two thumbs up. "HE SAID YES!"

The group cheers and wolf-whistles and Tyler just laughs even louder and finally cups Craig's cheeks, bringing him down to his lips. "I've wanted to do this for a very long time," he whispers, and Craig grins before closing the distance between them for the first and certainly not the last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> COLLEGE MOVE IN IS IN A WEEK Im gonna die of excitement 
> 
> uhhhh I'm still dealing with 'drabbles of starlight' but I totally forgot that I did so much shit in the 2nd chapter that I'm still writing it my b


	24. found home (act two scene three)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got to see the My Hero Academia movie in theaters and I nearly cried out of joy

There’s a gradual shift in the theater crew, if Lanai’s being honest. She can spot the love blossoming and how comfortable everyone’s becoming with each other. 

The couples slowly start falling into place. After Tyler and Craig started to go out, she sees Evan glancing even more at Jon. Kelly confirms this after a few seconds, gray eyes sparkling as she watches how nervous Evan gets around his crush.

Sleepovers become a common occurrence once more as the musical takes its toll on the cast and crew. On a Friday night where everyone is exhausted and half-asleep, Lanai's sitting in the chairs as she watches Brian and Suni act on stage. Kelly's standing off to the side with a scowl on her face, while Scotty, Anthony, and Tyler stand near her.

"I'm so tired," Marcel mutters from offstage. Smitty's already asleep, snoring softly on Jon's arm. The senior adjusts his position so he can let Smitty sleep a bit better, grinning as the freshman mutters and curls himself around the blue hoodie. 

Lanai, looking over blueprints for the cage and comparing Craig's height, does a double-take as she watches Suni sway on stage. Kelly, used to staying up extremely late, is still fine but even she's tired. Brian has sleep issues so he's yawning every couple of seconds.

"Marcel." Lanai speaks quietly, noting how long it takes their SM to turn around. "Marcel, we should go home." 

"I'm thinking about it," Marcel sighs. He leans into his mic and says, "Cue 24."

The lights don't change. The crew looks up, surprised, and Lanai sets down the pieces of paper. "I'll go check on them, be right back."

She climbs the stairs as fast as she can, heading up into the sound booth. As Lanai opens the door, she snickers at the sight before her. 

Curled up in a chair is Simone, eyes shut and headset still over her ears. Nogla's passed out on the counter with his hand near the sound switches. Ryan's sleeping under the counter, and McQuaid has his eyes closed as he slumps back in a chair.

She walks over to the headset and takes it off Simone's head, letting her brown/red hair fall over her shoulders. The button gets clicked and she speaks softly on the other line. "Marcel, they're all asleep."

 _"What?"_

Lanai tries not to laugh. "They're all passed out. Ryan's deadass asleep under the counter; we've gotta go home." 

Marcel sighs so deeply and from there, Lanai can see how he pinches the bridge of his nose. _"Goddamn it. I guess you're right. We're all super tired and I think I'm just super stressed from the whole thing. Whose house is available right now?"_

"Mine is," Lanai says quietly into the headset. "I know Evan is super busy helping his parents with something tomorrow so he's out. Melina...?"

On stage, the production has stopped. Suni's slumped over near the castle, body draped over the curtains they still needed to put up. Brian's slowly starting to sink down as well; from Lanai's angle, she can spot Brock jumping up from his spotlight and rushing down the stairs to the stage, making sure his boyfriend was alright. 

There's rustling on the mic and someone else's voice comes through. _"She's gonna be busy,"_ Anthony responds in the headset. _"Her parents also need a heads up and this is too late for them. Lanai, I think only your house can help."_

It was already getting late and she'd have to be quick. Some of the cast and crew that're awake promise to take a few of them home, but she's gonna have a lot of people to deal with. "Okay. That's fine." 

Her phone brightness hurts her eyes but she'll have to bear it for the time being. 

Lanai: hi mama 

Lanai: sooo.......everyone's exhausted right 

Lanai: and it's already getting late and I'm really sorry :( 

Lanai: but it's friday night and it's not a school night so 

Lanai: can a decent amount of them come stay? 

Mama: Of course love! The business trip my dear took should clear up some space as well. 

Oh. Right. Lanai's Mom was on a business trip.

Son of a bitch she could be dense. 

(In her defense, though, she was super tired and homework and stress for SATs was starting to hit her. Junior year was always stressful.) 

Lanai: thank you so much. I promise I'll make this up to you. <3 

The time on her phone says 9:45 PM. She confirms her mama's answer before clicking on the headset again. "It's a yes. Who has to come home with me? I can put the seats down in my car, I just need some people to help carry the others." 

_"It's a decent amount of people,"_ Anthony warns her. On stage, Marcel's rounding up the awake kids and directing them. Chrissy, who thankfully was able to get a solid 8 hours of sleep nowadays, is still awake and helping her SM out.

 _"So far, Brock has Brian, Tyler has Craig, Marcel has Scotty, Chrissy has Simone and Kelly, Evan has Jon, and Luke is gonna have Tyler and his group, along with Lui, head back to his house. By that count, you've got Suni, Nogla, Ryan, Smitty, John, and Jaclyn. Can you handle it?"_ Anthony rattles off so many names and for a moment, Lanai goes light-headed.

"Of course," she manages, and Anthony laughs on the other line. _"We'll help you out. Luke is having his group head to his car and he's gonna help you carry the others."_

Even as he speaks, she can already spot the senior hustling up the stairs with Evan by his side. Lanai gives them a grateful smile and hurries to open the door, quietly waking up McQuaid in the process. "We're headed home," the junior whispers to him. "We're all passing out and we need to sleep. Get home safe, okay?"

Their teacher just nods, trying to blink the tiredness out of his eyes. Evan steps past him to pick up Nogla, trying not to laugh as the senior wraps himself around the junior's waist.

Lanai gets Simone and drapes her arm across her shoulder, thanking Luke as the senior opens the door for her. He steps inside and picks up Ryan effortlessly.

They all descend slowly down the stairs, doing their best to be quiet. On stage, Marcel's yawning badly but he's still conscious. Chrissy heads on over to get Kelly and hands her off to Tyler, who's laughing at a barely awake Craig. 

Chrissy's eyes light up when she spots Lanai. "There she is! Okay, give her to me real quick and I'll try to get everyone else out."

Lanai hands Simone over and hurries outside to her car. It's dark outside, the only light being the streetlights in the parking lot. Brock's already unlocking his car and gently putting Brian in. "Hi Lanai!" The senior calls out. "Do you need any help?"

"Please!" She huffs out. "I need to bring down the seats in the backseat so I can pile a bunch of tired high schoolers in."

Brock manages to hide his laughter as he jogs on over, successfully stifling his own yawn. Lanai unlocks her car and the two open the back doors, adjusting seats and making sure the entire backseat is flat against the ground.

Luke heads outside with Ryan asleep in his arms. Tyler has Craig perched on his shoulders but Smitty's in his arms as well. Kyroz follows close behind, practically sleepwalking.

The three get placed inside and John goes right back to bed, curled around Smitty.

Slowly but surely, the students make it out of the PAC. McQuaid bids them a goodnight and heads off in his own car. Luke, Marcel, and Chrissy leave with their respective groups while Evan and Brock make sure Lanai is alright. 

"So you'll be fine with everyone?" Evan asks, trying not to laugh as Jon clings onto his arm. Suni's asleep in the passenger seat and Brian's doing the same thing in Brock's car. 

"Of course!" Lanai reassures him. "Gonna grab myself a donut on the way home anyways." 

"Alright then..." Evan grins, his cheeks going a rosy red as Jon mumbles something and presses a light kiss to his chin. Brock merely raises an eyebrow. "When are you gonna ask him out?"

"We've been kinda together already?" Evan admits. "He just walked in and held my hand and said 'hey, we're dating' so here we are I guess. I never actually asked him formally. Hey Delirious, do you wanna go out with me and be my boyfriend?"

Jon squints angrily at him and the other two do their best not to crack up. "Ev, I've made out with you a lot. I like your face. We're dating."

"And there we go!" Evan proclaims as Jon falls back asleep. "Problem solved."

Lanai does her best not to laugh and Brock surprisingly rolls his eyes. "You guys are dumb."

"And Suni?" Evan asks, doing his best to get the attention away from himself. It works; their resident mom friend turns to look at her with eyebrows raised, and Lanai has to put a hand to her bright cheeks. "Shut it."

"Ask her out!" Brock urges. "I owe it to Evan that I'm dating Brian, and I've never regretted it. Do you trust us?"

"Of course I do," she says immediately. She's spent her entire high school career with these two and she loves them dearly. Does she trust them with her life? Always.

"Then go for it!" Evan says excitedly. "I'm sure she's going to say yes."

Lanai nods, light-headed as the two wave and head off in their own respective cars. She heads to the driver's side and gets in, making sure Suni's buckled up before she starts the car and heads off. She's drumming her fingers on the steering wheel when Suni groans and opens her eyes. 

"Hey," Lanai says softly. "Do you want anything to eat? Gonna grab us some donuts if anyone wakes up tonight and maybe tomorrow since it'll be Saturday."

Suni blinks once before nodding, leaning against the seat. "I heard you earlier," her muffled voice is loud in the quiet car. 

Lanai stiffens as she stops at a red light. "...Yeah?"

"Yeah," Suni mumbles. "I've got a crush on you too. Just wanted to let you know."

Oh. Well. Uh. Lanai stares at the street as Suni falls back asleep, nearly flooring it as the light turns green. Someone mutters something from the back as she pulls into the Dunkin Donuts; it sounds like Nogla. 

"Anyone want donuts?" She asks in the empty air, trying not to hyperventilate. Her crush just told her she liked her back and _fell back asleep._

Maybe Suni going to sleep was the better option, honestly.

"Glazed please," Smitty's tired voice comes from the back. Kyroz mumbles an agreement and Ryan and Jaclyn chime in with sprinkles and chocolate glaze. 

Suni's eyes flutter open for a moment and she whispers, "Red velvet please," before going back to bed. 

Lanai's gonna die before she gets home. 

She orders and hands the window cashier her money, thanking them before picking up the donuts. It's smoother from there; she sets the box of donuts down and drives off, taking another 10 minutes to get home.

Her Mama is already waiting for her. She has her long brown hair pulled into a bun and she's got paint splattered on her hands. Lanai pulls into the driveway and goes to give her Mama a kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry," she whispers as she opens the back. Her mom laughs a bit and reaches to get Smitty, quietly noting how tiny the kid is. "I already said it's alright, and I'm very proud your friends can rely on you." 

Lanai's lips quirk into a half-smile and she reaches in to get Suni. The other junior wraps her arms around Lanai's neck and presses a very off-center kiss to the bottom of her cheek.

Her Mama has to catch her as Lanai nearly topples backwards, somehow managing to stay on her feet and hold onto Suni. "Mama," Lanai manages as she carries her inside, "I'm super gay."

The laughter that comes from outside is extremely loud and it takes the two of them the next 5 minutes to settle everyone inside. The group finally wakes up and snags a donut before heading right to bed, leaving upstairs to go finally sleep. 

Lanai whispers a goodnight and helps Suni upstairs. She leads her to the guest bedroom where Suni tugs on her shirt. "Hey," the junior says in a moment of clarity. "I meant what I said earlier. Can we go on a date tomorrow?"

Lanai closes her eyes and silently thanks Evan and Brock, knowing damn well she's gonna buy them food soon. "Of course."

Suni smiles, Lanai stares at her and blushes brightly, and the two bid each other a goodnight.

Lanai goes to bed with a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also saw the Nun the night before I saw the BNHA movie and I walked out ready to fight a nun demon bitch


	25. convenience store run (act two scene four)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rlly want to update the halloween story but Im...lazy. working on it tho.

“Hurry the fuck up!” Kyroz hisses, opening the door at the top of the auditorium for the crew.

Smitty is currently having the time of his life. Everyone’s just gotten out of their final class of the day; Marcel, Anthony, and Luke, of course, (assholes) had 8th off and were already chilling in the theater. 

This is where Smitty finds himself; he’s sitting with John at his respective spotlight, chatting with his best friend and crush when Evan and Delirious appear at the opening where everyone has to walk through to reach the spotlight. 

Lanai and Melina wave behind the two, and Smitty raises an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

“We’re gonna make a convenience store run,” Evan whispers. “Wanna go with us?”

See, the school wasn’t really big on kids leaving lunch to get fast food somewhere else. Administration was getting pissed, but then the holy grail of stores appeared.

The one convenience store across the street.

Their business was obviously booming. So many kids headed there every day, chatting with friends and buying snacks and food and hanging out until their parents picked them up or they just walked home. 

Smitty had checked the time, which read 4:50; the crew only had about thirty minutes before rehearsal started. 

“Absolutely,” the two grinned. 

So now here they were; Kyroz rushing everyone out, the group of six giggling and rushing down the stairs outside the theater and down to the lobby. Smitty runs out the door and laughs as he feels the weak sunshine on his face. 

Late January was a bitch to everyone for the weather. Today seemed to take pity on them, as the clouds were evident but the sun was still making an attempt through.

Delirious is already sprinting across the parking lot, cheering and throwing his hands into the air. Evan’s jogging after him with a fond smile on his face. 

Melina heads on over to Kyroz to ask about his jewelry so that leaves Lanai with Smitty. The junior gives him a bright smile, and Smitty already knows about her relationship due to them holding hands in the hallway. 

"So how's Suni?" He asks, and laughs when Lanai’s cheeks go red. “You’re not subtle, y’know.”

“I know.” Lanai snickers. “I’m just really excited about it. What about you and John?”

"Eh.” Smitty waves his hand. “Not sure. I think I might ask him out for Valentine’s, I’m honestly just winging it from here.” 

Lanai nods and pulls out her phone, looking down as it buzzes. “Uh oh. Brock’s asking where we all are, since he’s the other spotlight. He said John’s not answering his phone.”

Smitty winces and leans over to view the message. 

Brock: Where are you guys?? Marcel hasn’t noticed yet, but we’re missing a bunch of techies! 

The junior laughs nervously. “How upset do you think he’ll be if we told him where we are?”

Smitty shrugs. “He can’t do anything to stop us now, might as well tell him.”

He can easily read Lanai’s message back as they pause at the crosswalk. Delirious and Kyroz are already walking across, chatting as Melina yells at them for being idiots. 

Evan hangs back to talk to the other two. “Is that Momma Brock asking where we are?”

Smitty tears his gaze away from  Lanai: uhhhhhhhhhhh we’re grabbing snacks my b  and grins at the junior. “Yeah, but we’ll make it back in time! I think.”

They make their way to the store and head inside, marveling again at all the food. Majority of their crew makes a beeline for the milkshakes while Melina stops at the donuts. “Think I’m just gonna bring this entire thing back with us.”

Lanai suddenly cracks up as she’s grabbing her milkshake selection. “Smitters, look at what our mom texted us. God he’s the best.”

Smitty catches her phone and scrolls through the messages, starting to grin as he realizes what’s going on. 

Brock: You guys went to the convenience store? 

Lanai: .....yeah? 

Brock: Can you please bring me back a chocolate milkshake and a hot dog? I didn’t get a chance to eat lunch because I was working on some homework. 

Lanai: you’re the fucking BEST of COURSE I will bring you some. thanks for not ratting us out, ily 

Brock: Come back safe! 

Smitty smiles at the thought of their dear Brock managing to hide out at the spotlight area and making sure they weren’t caught. He’s the best mom friend ever. 

The freshman goes to stock up on candy bars and soda. The entire group agrees to pay together and piles all their items onto the counter. John even sets down Smitty’s favorite milkshake; cookies and cream, and Smitty beams at him.

(He doesn’t notice John’s cheeks burning red, and Melina teasing the life out of him for it.)

"I’m so excited for this,” Delirious says dreamily as he stares down at his snacks. “I’m so hungry.” 

Evan cracks up at the look on his boyfriend’s face. “Babe, you just ate about two hours ago.”

“Your point?”

“Fair enough.”

Melina freezes when they head outside, eyes going wide as she checks her phone. “Uh. Guys. We only have five minutes.”

SIlence falls and Lanai yells "WHAT.”

Smitty stares at the PAC in the distance. The street seems to taunt him, jeering at them and saying they’ll never make it back in time. 

“Son of a bitch,” Evan swears. “We have to run.”

The other five members of the convenience store run stare at him in shock. “We have to what?” Delirious asks weakly, looking down at his lanky body. Smitty does the same with a small whimper. 

"We don't have a choice,” Evan says grimly. “On my mark; ready, set, RUN!”

Lanai immediately takes off running, Melina doing her best to catch up. Kyroz sets off at a light but constant jog. 

Smitty, however, isn’t quite used to running long distance yet. He’s huffing after a solid 30 seconds of sprinting and he has to catch his breath. 

Evan comes back for him. “Do you need me to carry you?”

“No,” he wheezes. “I’ll be fine.”

The junior rolls his eyes and laughs. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

With no warning, Evan leans down to pick up Smitty. The freshman squawks as he gets cradled to Evan’s warm chest. “What the shit?”

His phone buzzes, and Smitty answers it as Evan continues rushing towards the PAC. They’re on a mission now, it’s now or never. It’s a race against time and Marcel finding out where they went. “Hello?”

 _“Where are you guys?!”_ Brock hisses. _“Marcel’s almost done checking backstage, he’s about to head to the sound booth!”_

Evan, overhearing the conversation, rushes even faster. “We’re on our way Brock!”

 _“Head upstairs from the lobby,”_ the senior whispers now. _“I’ll have Ryan open the door for you guys.”_

“Thank you!” Evan and Smitty call in unison. 

Lanai’s panting as they reach the doors into the PAC. “We gotta go,” she urgently points upstairs. “Rehearsal’s starting now!”

As the three hurry up the stairs, their savior arrives in the form of Ryan. The freshman quickly opens the doors and rushes the group of six in. “Run!” Ryan hisses, and Smitty throws him a candy bar as his way of thanks.

They barely make it with any time to spare. Smitty watches as Evan and Jon throw themselves into the sound booth, hiding their bags as fast as they can. Melina casually makes her way down the stairs and passes Marcel; she salutes him and he narrows his eyes at her. 

Kyroz dives into his spotlight area and shoves the plastic bag behind his backpack. Smitty does the same and manages a winning smile at their SM. “Hey Marcel!”

“Hey,” Marcel says cautiously. “What the fuck did you do?”

“Nothing much, really.” John stretches out and yawns. “Just waiting for rehearsal, y’know?”

It’s all the time Lanai needs to run across the theater to make it to Brock’s spotlight with his milkshake in her hand. As Marcel focuses his attention on Kyroz, Lanai gives Smitty a thumbs up, and the freshman quietly laughs to himself, settling back to watch their theater crew perform on stage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is another story that happened irl!
> 
> running across the parking lot, sprinting for our lives...a classic. 
> 
> also, we never got caught, and I was working spotlights for this particular musical so I dove into my area and drank my milkshake as rehearsals went on. 
> 
> it was p cool.

**Author's Note:**

> SM— Marcel (senior)
> 
> ASM— Chrissy (senior)
> 
> Spotlights— Brock (senior) and Kryoz (sophomore)
> 
> Lights— Simone (junior) and Ryan (freshman)
> 
> Sound— Nogla (senior)
> 
> Theater— Brian (junior), Craig (junior), Tyler (junior), Kelly (junior), Suni (junior), Scotty (sophomore), Luke (senior), Anthony (senior), Jaclyn (junior), Lui (sophomore)
> 
> Tech Crew— Evan (junior), Jon (senior), Smitty (freshman), Lanai (junior), Melina (sophomore)


End file.
